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Determination of nerolidol in teas using headspace solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography
Chunhua Ma1, Yanqin Qu2, Yingxue Zhang2
1Ministry of Education & Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Analysis and Detection for Food Safety, Department of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350002, China; College of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, China.
A new method using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) accurately quantifies nerolidol in tea. This technique also tracks nerolidol changes during tea manufacturing for quality assessment.
Area of Science:
- Analytical Chemistry
- Food Chemistry
- Plant Biochemistry
Background:
- Nerolidol is a key volatile aroma compound in tea with potential health benefits.
- Accurate quantification of nerolidol is essential for tea quality assessment and understanding its health implications.
- Existing methods for nerolidol determination may lack efficiency or flexibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and optimize a novel quantitative method for nerolidol determination in tea.
- To investigate the generation and changes in nerolidol content during tea manufacturing.
- To assess the feasibility of using nerolidol content for Oolong tea grading.
Main Methods:
- Development and optimization of headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) parameters (fibre type, temperature, time, stirring rate).
- Quantitative analysis using gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID).
- Application of the optimized HS-SPME-GC-FID method to analyze nerolidol in various tea samples, including Oolong tea.
Main Results:
- Optimized HS-SPME-GC-FID demonstrated high efficiency and flexibility for nerolidol analysis in tea.
- The method achieved a linear range of 2.7-1360 ng g⁻¹ and a limit of detection of 0.3 ng g⁻¹.
- Average recoveries ranged from 78.7% to 106% in spiked samples, indicating good accuracy.
- Nerolidol content variations were observed across different manufacturing stages.
- Nerolidol content correlated with Oolong tea grades, enabling grade judgment.
Conclusions:
- The developed HS-SPME-GC-FID method is a robust and reliable technique for nerolidol quantification in tea.
- The study provides insights into nerolidol dynamics during tea processing.
- Nerolidol content can serve as a valuable indicator for Oolong tea quality grading.
