Rapid Profiling and Authentication of Vanilla Extracts Using Gas Chromatography-Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy

Abstract

Vanilla extracts are widely used as flavoring ingredients in foods, beverages, perfumes, and pharmaceuticals. Due to the high cost of producing high-quality natural extracts, artificial flavorings, such as ethyl vanillin and coumarin, are often used. For food safety and to ensure high-quality products, it is important to differentiate between natural and artificial extracts. In this work, gas chromatography-vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy (GC-VUV) was used for the determination of natural and artificial flavoring compounds in vanilla extract samples. Since the GC-VUV software is able to deconvolve co-eluting peaks based on their unique VUV/UV absorption spectra (125–240 nm), a compromise between resolution and speed of analysis (6- and 14-min runs on different polarity columns) could be made. LODs between 0.42 and 2.0 μg mL−1 were obtained for the tested flavoring compounds. Vanillin was present in extracts at the highest concentrations, from 108 to 5817 μg mL−1.