Abstract:

A gel permeation chromatography (GPC) method for sample clean-up, followed by high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection was developed for the determination of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in edible
vegetable oils. The samples were cleaned up by GPC, evaporated under vacuum atmosphere and then determined by HPLC.
The results showed this method was sensitive and had a good linearity within the concentration range of 0.21–52.50 ng/mL.
The limit of detection was 0.2 μg/kg and the limit of quantization was 0.7 μg/kg. The mean recoveries of standard additions
in different kinds and grades of edible vegetable oils were between 98.6% and 103.5%, with relative standard deviations
(RSDs) (n = 6) in the range of 2.98%–4.69%. The average of ten repeated determinations of BaP in one positive sample
during the years 2011 to 2013 was 10.94 μg/kg with a RSD of 2.12%, suggesting good repeatability of this method. This
GPC-HPLC method is simple, sensitive and reliable for the determination of benzo(a)pyrene in edible vegetable oils.

Key words: gel permeation chromatography (GPC), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), edible vegetable oil, benzo(a)pyrene