Development of an HPLC/diode-array detector method for simultaneous determination of sodium benzoate and phenolic compounds in quince jam

A simple, rapid, sensitive, reproducible, and accurate reversed-phase HPLC procedure is proposed for the determination of sodium benzoate in quince jam samples. The sample preparation was simple, involving only extraction with methanol. The chromatographic separation was achieved using a reversed-phase column Spherisorb ODS2 (5 mu m; 25.0 x 0.46 cm). Gradient elution was carried out using water-formic acid (19:1) (A) and methanol (B). The effluent was monitored by a diode-array detector and chromatograms were recorded at 280 nm. The detection limit value of the method for sodium benzoate was 0.5 mu g/mL and the method was precise (SD=0.003; CV%=2.76; n=6). Recovery values of sodium benzoate from spiked quince jam samples were between 94.7 and 100 %. This technique can also be useful for the simultaneous definition of the phenolic profile (phenolic acids, flavonoids, and glycosides of procyanidin polymers) of quince jam.