Determination of Hexanal in Rice Using an Automated Dynamic Headspace Sampler Coupled to a Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer

The aim of this study was to establish a method for the determination of hexanal as a lipid oxidation marker in rice. For the sample preparation, ground rice exhibited better sensitivity and reproducibility for the analysis of hexanal than whole rice. A total flow of purge gas of 300 mL at 20 mL/min of purge was sufficient to obtain the necessary sensitivity for the analysis of hexanal in rice. The total time for sample preparation and analysis for individual samples was approximately 15 min. A low incubation temperature of 30°C was chosen, not only to reduce the effect of water, but also to avoid excess lipid oxidation and loss of hexanal during the analysis. The limits of detection and quantification were 3.7 and 5.1 ng/g, respectively. Good linearity was obtained in the range from 5.1-500.0 ng/g. The recoveries of hexanal in rice were greater than 97.0 and 107.0% at the spiked levels of 5 and 50 ng/g, respectively, with relative standard deviations of 3.3 and 6.1%, respectively.