Second-order electrochemical data generation to quantify carvacrol in oregano essential oils

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Electrochemistry
• Chemometrics

Background:

• Oregano essential oil (OEO) is rich in carvacrol (CAR), a valuable compound.
• Accurate quantification of CAR in OEO is crucial for quality control and research.
• Existing analytical methods may face challenges with complex matrices and interferents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel analytical method for carvacrol quantification in OEO.
• To utilize second-order voltammetric data and multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-square (MCR-ALS) for enhanced analysis.
• To assess the method's performance in the presence of potential interferents, such as thymol.

Main Methods:

• Generation of second-order cyclic voltammetry data by varying scan rates (v) for a single sample.
• Application of multivariate curve resolution-alternating least-square (MCR-ALS) for data analysis.
• Quantification of carvacrol in oregano essential oil samples.

Main Results:

• The MCR-ALS method successfully leveraged second-order advantage for carvacrol determination.
• Recoveries were statistically not different from 100%, indicating high accuracy.
• Achieved limits of detection (6.27 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹) and quantitation (1.90 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹) demonstrate method sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• A novel and effective voltammetric second-order modeling method using MCR-ALS was established for carvacrol quantification in OEO.
• The developed methodology is robust and accurate, suitable for analyzing carvacrol in complex samples like OEO.
• This approach provides a sensitive and reliable tool for the analysis of carvacrol, overcoming potential interference issues.