Determination of the α‑Tocopherol Content in Edible Seed Oils via HPLC and an Electrochemical Approach

α-Tocopherol (α-T) is a fat-soluble antioxidant known as vitamin E. Vitamin E exists in eight different forms. Nevertheless, α-T is the most active and biologically effective of these forms. It protects cell membranes, fat tissues, and other bodily structures from oxidative damage by combating free radicals within the body. In this study, the α-T contents of two different edible seed oils (wheat germ and pomegranate seed) were compared via innovative (electrochemical) and traditional (high-performance liquid chromatography, HPLC) techniques to determine the consistency between the methods. The electrochemical determination of α-T in vegetable oils was performed via differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at a multiwall carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode in a sodium perchlorate-acetonitrile medium. Additionally, the cyclic voltammogram of α-T showed two well-defined oxidation peaks. Using DPV, it was observed that the peak currents increased linearly with increasing α-T concentration in the range of 15.9-182.5 μg/L, with a detection limit of 0.23 μg/L (0.54 nM). The developed electroanalytical method was applied to detect α-T amounts in vegetable oils, and the results were in agreement with those obtained via HPLC.