Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Olive and Refined Pomace Olive Oils using HPLC/FLD

In this study, an analytical method is developed to determine 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in olive and refined pomace olive oils using HPLC coupled with a fluorescence detector. The standardised method of ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction consisted of liquid–liquid extraction with organic solvent and purification on C18 and Florisil bonded-phase cartridges was modified for the refined olive and refined pomace olive oils. The modification included the clean-up by solid phase extraction on an amino cartridge eluting with toluene. The limits of detection and limits of quantitation were 0.19-0.97 µg kg-1 and 0.57-2.93 µg kg-1, respectively. The PAHs recoveries ranged from 75% to 110% (RSD = 3–8%).The performance of the present method was evaluated for determination of PAHs in various types of olive oils samples, and suitable results were obtained. The variable levels of PAHs were detected ranging from 0.61 to 6.30µgkg-1 in real samples.