Simultaneous determination of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene in olive oil by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method was develop ed for the determination, in one run, of alpha-tocopherol and beta-carotene in virgin olive oil. The method involved a rapid saponification and a late r extraction with a mixture of hexane-ethyl acetate. The chromatographic sy stem consists of an ODS-2 column with a mobile phase of methanol-water-buta nol and a diode-array detector. Linearity, precision, recovery and sensitiv ity were satisfactory. The main advantage of the proposed method is the spe ed and simultaneous determination of both compounds at the same time. (C) 2 000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.