Rapid Analysisnof Bergamot Oil and Patchouli Oil by Fast GC/MS

Introduction

An essential oil is a liquid extract of the volatile aromatic compounds from plants. Essential oils are used in perfumery, aromatherapy, cosmetics, medicine, as well as in flavoring in food and drink. As part of the quality assurance practice in fragrance analysis, the compositions of essential oils often need to be determined. In this case, specificity and analysis time are two important factors in quality assurance. Fast gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) technique offers an increased specificity of the results as well as reduced analysis time. Through a comparison of the retention indices and the mass spectra the compounds in an essential oil can be identified. Comparison of mass spectra can be performed against general mass spectral a library or special flavor/fragrance mass spectral libraries. Analysis times, which usually range from 30 minutes to 60 minutes, can be reduced drastically without sacrificing the specificity. Here we report Fast GC/MS analysis of two essential oils bergamot oil and patchouli oil where the analysis time is reduced to about 4 and 6 minutes, respectively. This 5-fold reduction of analysis time can significantly increase sample throughput and reduce the cost per analysis.

August 10, 2006 GMT