Abstract:

A rapid and sensitive method was proposed for the identification of ginger oil adulterated with soybean oil
using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The method was based on the identification of the characteristic
components including methyl palmitate, methyl linoleate, methyl oleate and methyl stearate in soybean oil by GC-MS after
ginger oil sample was derivatized by methyl ester. The necessity of derivatization with methyl ester was discussed, and the
GC-MS chromatograms for pure ginger oil and adulterated one were compared before and after methyl ester derivation. The
results showed that the minimum content of 1% soybean oil in ginger oil could be detected according to the characteristic
peaks of soybean oil. Being sensitive and reliable, the proposed method can provide an effective technique for the quality
control of ginger oil.

Key words: ginger oil, adulteration, soybean oil, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)