A reliable and highly sensitive method for the determination of hesperidin
is described. It involves the formation of a highly fluorescent complex bet
ween hesperidin and aluminium (III) in a micellar medium. There is a linear
relationship between fluorescence intensity (lambda(em) = 496 nm, lambda(e
x), = 391 nm) and hesperidin concentration over the range 5 x 10(-7) - 2 x
10(-5) mol L-1. The detection limit is 79 mu g L-1. The method can easily b
e adapted to a flow system using a three-channel manifold, the peak height
being proportional to the hesperidin concentration over the range 1 x 10(-6
)- 1 x 10(-4) mol L-1. Manual and flow-injection procedures have been succe
ssfully applied to the determination of hesperidin in orange peel and orang
e juice.