Determination of polyphenols by high-performance liquid chromatography with inhibited chemiluminescence detection

A chemiluminescence reaction detector was developed for the detection of po lyphenols separated by HPLC based on the inhibition of chemiluminescence fr om the luminol-potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) reaction by polyphenols. The separation was carried out on a RP-C-18 column at 37 degrees C by using st epwise gradient elutions. The detection limits are in the range of 6.8.10(- 7)-2.0.10(-9) g/ml for catechol, protocatechuic acid, chlorogenic acid, rut in, resorcinol, hydroquinone and p-tert.-butylpyrocatechol. The method is s ensitive, selective, fast and simple. It has been successfully applied to t he determination of chlorogenic acid and rutin in real tobacco samples. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.