Comparative study of different sorbents for clean-up for pyrethroid analysis in cocoa powder by GC-ECD: A preliminary study

Abstract

Three types of solvents and 13 combinations of sorbents were tested to extract pyrethroids (lambda-cyhalothrin, permethrin, cypermethrin, fenvalerate, and deltamethrin) from cocoa powder and to remove interferences during clean-up step before being quantified by gas chromatography coupled with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The result was analysed based on recovery study by spiking the cocoa powder with known amount of targeted pyrethroids. Acetonitrile, methanol, and n-hexane were compared as the solvents and the result showed that acetonitrile is relatively better in extracting pyrethroids. Moreover, 13 treatments, singly or combination of primary secondary amine (PSA), graphitized carbon black (GCB), C18, and florosil, were tested for clean-up step. The clean-up study shows that only combination of PSA and GCB; combination of C18 and Florisil; and combination of GCB and florisil comply the recovery guideline suggested by AOAC and EU, thus are suggested for clean-up for pyrethroid analysis in cocoa powder.