Abstract:

Benincasa hispida exhibits strong accumulation capacity towards di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEPH), which proves to be carcinogenic. In the present study, a gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric method (GC-MS) was proposed for the determination of DEPH in fruits of Benincasa hispida, based on optimal DEPH extraction process. The developed standard curve of DEPH exhibited a good linearity over the range of 0.0001 to 1.0 mg/mL. The limit of detection (RS/N = 3) was 2.65×10-3 mg/kg. The recoveries for DEPH at 5 spike levels were between 87.69% and 96.85%, with an average RSD of 3.16%. The proposed method, thanks to its high accuracy, good selectivity and less interference, meets the requirements for the analysis of DEHP in fruits of Benincasa hispida so as to have a great application prospect.

Key words: DEHP, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Benincasa hispida, determination