Hydroxymethylfurfural in fruit puree and juice: preconcentration and determination using microextraction method coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography and optimization by Box-Behnken design

In the present study, a sensitive and rapid method for separation and determination of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in fruit puree and juices was proposed. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for extraction and quantitative determination of HMF in fruit puree and juices. The effective parameters such as the type and volume of extraction and dispersive solvents, pH and salt amount (NaCl) were studied and optimized with the aid of response surface methodology based on Box-Behnken design to obtain the best condition for HMF extraction. At the optimized conditions, parameter values were 60 mu L extracting solvent, 600 mu L dispersive solvent, 2 g NaCl and pH 5. Repeatability of the method, described as the relative standard deviation, was 3.1% (n = 6) and the recovery was 98.4%. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation were 1.47 and 5.28 mu g L-1, respectively. The merit figures of DLLME-HPLC-UV method showed that the proposed method can be noticed as a new, fast and good alternative method for investigation of HMF in various fruit puree and juice samples.