Determination of alcohols in essential oils by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection after chromogenic derivatization

• Robust HPLC-UV method to determine alcohols in essential oils was described.
• Reliable derivatization protocol of alcohols with phthalic anhydride is proposed.
• Quick and safe optimization of the HPLC-UV separation was achieved with DryLab®.
• Selectivity and sensibility enhancement of proposed method compared to GC methods.

An HPLC-UV method to determine compounds having a hydroxyl functional group in plant essential oils is developed. The sample is diluted with 1,4-dioxane and the analytes are derivatized with phthalic anhydride. The derivatives (phthalates hemiesters) are separated on a C8 column using an acetonitrile (ACN)/water gradient. Separation conditions were optimized using the DryLab® method development software. For the alcohols and phenols present in mint and rose essential oils, optimization led to a ca. 40 min gradient time and a column temperature of 8 °C. The alcohol and its derivatives were identified using HPLC with mass spectrometry (MS) detection. A large sensitivity enhancement was obtained by derivatization protocol. The HPLC-UV method was compared to GC with flame ionization detector (FID) and GC–MS. The limits of detection (LODs) obtained by the proposed method were better than those obtained by GC-FID and of the same order as those achieved by GC–MS. The three methods were satisfactorily applied to the determination of alcohols in essential oils. Therefore, the recommended method is of interest as an alternative to GC methods, to investigate the presence of compounds having an alcohol group at low concentrations in essential oils.