Determination of volatile phenols in Chinese liquors by high-performance liquid chromatography associated with [beta]-cyclodextrin and a protective barrier layer

Volatile phenols have been considered as a class of highly flavour-active compounds in non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. However, the information on volatile phenols in Chinese liquors remains limited. This article presents a high-performance liquid chromatography with a fluorescence detector (HPLC-FLD) method for the determination of 10 volatile phenols in Chinese liquors. The method was based on the fluorescent nature of volatile phenols, the separation of the isomers p-cresol and m-cresol with [beta]-cyclodextrin as the resolving agent, and the use of a protective barrier layer for the capture of volatile phenols during the concentration process of the extract solution. The effects of several experimental parameters on recoveries of target volatile phenols were investigated. The correlation coefficients (R super(2)) for calibration curves of the 10 phenols studies were in the range 0.9991-0.9998 when the linearity range was from 0.05 to 4 mu g/ml. The proposed RP-HPLC method was successfully applied to the analysis of Chinese liquors and the recoveries of the phenols were in the range 91.5-100.4% with RSD 0.9-2.2%, and the limits of detection were 0.0072-0.0234 mu g/ml. Volatile phenols of different types and in differing amounts were found in several Chinese liquors. The method could be of use for routine evaluation of the quantity of volatile phenols during the production and ageing process of Chinese liquors. Copyright [copy 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Volatile phenols have been considered as a class of highly flavour-active compounds in non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. However, the information on volatile phenols in Chinese liquors remains limited. An HPLC-FLD method for the determination of 10 volatile phenols in Chinese liquors is presented. The method was based on the fluorescent nature of volatile phenols, the separation of p-cresol and m-cresol with [beta]-cyclodextrin as the resolving agent, and the use of a protective barrier layer for the capture of volatile phenols during the concentration process of the extract solution. The effects of several experimental parameters on recoveries of target volatile phenols were investigated. The correlation coefficients (R2) for calibration curves of the 10 phenols studied were in the range 0.9991-0.9998 when the linearity range was from 0.05 to 4 mu g/ml. The proposed RP-HPLC method was successfully applied to the analysis of Chinese liquors. Recoveries of the phenols were in the range 91.5-1