Dual dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for determination of phenylpropenes in oils by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

A novel, simple and quick sample preparation method was developed and used for pre-concentration and extraction of six phenylpropenes, including anethole, estragole, eugenol, methyl eugenol, safrole and myristicin, from oil samples by dual dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used for determination and separation of compounds. Several experimental parameters affecting extraction efficiency were evaluated and optimized, including forward-extractant type and volume, surfactant type and concentration, water volume, and back-extractant type and volume. For all analytes (10-1000 ng/mL), the limits of detection (S/N ≧ 3) ranged from 1.0 to 3.0 ng/mL; the limits of quantification (S/N ≧ 10) ranged from 2.5 to 10.0 ng/mL; and enrichment factors ranged from 3.2 to 37.1 times. Within-run and between-run relative standard deviations (n = 6) were less than 2.61% and less than 4.33%, respectively. Linearity was excellent with determination coefficients (r2) above 0.9977. The experiments showed that the proposed method is a simple, effective, and environmentally friendly method of analyzing phenylpropenes in oil samples.