Rapid determination of vitamin E in vegetable oils by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A quick and direct method for measuring tocopherols (alpha, beta+gamma and delta) in vegetable oils has been developed using RP-HPLC with UV detection . Previous extraction of tocopherols is not required. The oil is diluted in hexane and an aliquot is mixed with ethanol containing an internal standar d (ol-tocopherol acetate). The chromatographic system consists of an ODS-2 column with a methanol-water mobile phase. Tocopherols are detected at 292 nm in less than 5 min after injection. The method is precise (RSD=2.69%) an d has a high mean recovery (98.14%). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rig hts reserved.