Liquid–liquid extraction of silylated polyalcohols from vinegar, and their determination by capillary GC

A capillary gas chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of glycerol, erythritol, arabitol, sorbitol, and inositol in vinegar. After addition of phenyl‐β‐glucopyranoside as internal standard, the sample was then dried and silylated. The analysis was performed both on the crude silylated sample and after liquid – liquid extraction. The repeatability of the two methods was evaluated on twenty three different types of vinegar and the extraction did not seriously affect the analysis. Extraction of the TMS‐ethers enables elimination of a large number of interfering substances such as acids and polyphenols and so acts as a purification of the sample. Copyright © 1994 Hüthig GmbH