High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural in apple juices and concentrates

A rapid and sensitive method for determining 2-furaldehyde (FUR) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde (HMF) in apple juices and juice concentrates has been developed. The method for FUR and HMF involves the solid-liquid extraction of the juice by using a C-18 cartridge prior to reversed-phase separation with detection at 280 nm. The mobile phase was acetonitrile-water (8/92, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. Recoveries from apple juices and juice concentrates spiked at different levels ranged from 94.1 to 104.0 (FUR) and 94.5 to 100.5 (HMF). The quantification limit for both, FUR and HMF, was 5 ppb