Quantitative determination of thiourea in citrus fruits

A quantitative method for thiourea determination in orange peels is proposed, with direct reflectance spectrometric measurements on chromatoplates. Thiourea is separated on a silica gel plate with methanol-chloroform (10 + 90), and the spots are characterized with 2,6-dichloroquinone chloroimide; this colorimetric reaction is unstable, so thiourea is quantitated on the chromatogram by direct ultraviolet reflectance spectrometric measurements at 240 nm. Comparison between this method and the AOAC colorimetric method shows interferences and higher results in the colorimetric assay. By slightly modifying the extraction technique, such as purifying the extract on an alumina column, it is possible to decrease these interferences and to avoid erroneous results with the AOAC colorimetric method. For both methods, colorimetry in solution and reflectometry on chromatoplates, applied after the proposed extraction technique, the sensitivity is about 1 ppm and the reliabilities are similar.