Rapid and sensitive determination of phenol in honey by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

The objective of this research was to develop a novel high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method involving a simple sample preparation procedure for the rapid, low-cost, and sensitive quantitation of phenol in honey at levels of regulatory and practical importance. After proper dilution of honey with water, the samples were analyzed by a gradient HPLC system, using a reversed-phase column with fluorescence detection at excitation and emission wavelengths of 270 and 300 nm, respectively. The eluents applied were water-acetonitrile-85% orthophosphoric acid (10:10: 0.01, v/v/v) and water-85% orthophosphoric acid (20:0.01, v/v). The retention time of phenol was found to be 14.1 min, and the limit of quantitation for phenol in honey was set at 5 mug/kg. Overall recovery was 98%. The proposed method has been successfully applied to real sample analysis.