Subagio A, Sari P, Morita N
Laboratory of Food Chemistry, Graduate School of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Gakuencho 1-1, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan.
Phytochem Anal. 2001 Jul-Aug;12(4):271-6. doi: 10.1002/pca.583.
A fast single-step extraction procedure and HPLC with electrochemical detection (ECD) in the oxidative mode has been used for the simultaneous, quantitative determination of (+)-catechin (CA) and (-)-epicatechin (EC) in cacao and its products. A UV detector measuring at 280 nm was also used in-line for comparison purposes. The samples were extracted with methanol and applied directly to the reversed-phase column of the HPLC. The high sensitivity of the ECD allowed operation at a low voltage (+0.5 V), but with a high sensitivity for the readily oxidizable CA and EC, thus reducing baseline noise. As a result, ECD had a better sensitivity and resolution than UV detection for the simultaneous quantitative determination of CA and EC in cacao and its products.
