Introduction: Salting-out assisted liquid-liquid extraction (SALLE) is a technique that, although simple and not requiring any complex equipment, is very powerful and versatile. It has obtained growing interest in bioanalysis particularly when combined with chromatographic techniques.
Objectives: Herein, fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) were used as a case-study to show the application of SALLE in phytochemical analysis.
Material and methods: SALLE combined with HPLC-UV-MS/MS and GC-MS.
Results: By HPLC-UV-MS/MS analysis of the organic extract it was possible to identify various phenolic compounds, including quercetin derivatives, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and chlorogenic acid. The main compounds identified by GC-MS were estragole, fenchone, anisaldehyde, anethole, benzaldehyde, camphor and apiole.
Conclusion: HPLC and GC analysis of the extracts showed that it is possible to isolate, in only one step, a wide range of compounds with distinct properties, allowing a detailed phytochemical analysis. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: Foeniculum vulgare; chromatography; phytochemical characterisation; polyphenols; sample preparation.
Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.