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Identification of benzethonium chloride in commercial grapefruit seed extracts
1Western Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, California 94710, USA. grt@pw.usda.gov
Abstract:
Commercial grapefruit seed extracts (GSE) were extracted with chloroform. The solvent was evaporated, and the resulting solid was subsequently analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and elemental analysis (by proton-induced X-ray emission [PIXE] analysis). The main constituent was identified as benzethonium chloride, a synthetic antimicrobial agent commonly used in cosmetics and other topical applications. This compound comprised 8.03% (n = 2) of the liquid GSE sample. Higher amounts of benzethonium chloride were found in powder GSE samples.