simultaneous analysis of tocopherols, phytosterols, and squalene in vegetable oils by high-performance liquid chromatography

Vegetable oils are a rich source of bioactive substances. the non-saponifiable substances that accompany lipids include tocopherols, sterols, squalene. the aim of this study was to develop a new method for the simultaneous determination of tocopherols (α-, (β+γ)-, and δ-tocopherols), phytosterols (β-sitosterol and stigmasterol), and squalene in vegetable oils. chromatographic (hplc) separation was performed within 37 min with a mobile phase of 98:2 (v/v) methanol–water and isopropanol at a flow rate of 1.0 ml min−1 at 30 °c. detection and quantification were performed at 210 nm. the results showed that the best source of total tocopherols is soybean oil (39.9 mg/100 g), followed by corn oil (36.06 mg/100 g), olive oil (29.42 mg/100 g), and camellia oil (17.72 mg/100 g). the content of plant sterols ranged from 94.96 mg/100 g in camellia oil to 314.15 mg/100 g in corn oil. soybean oil and olive oil contained 164.14 and 127.80 mg/100 g, respectively. the content of squalene in corn oil was a mean of 256.84 mg/100 g, while there was only a weakly significant difference between camellia oil (159.76 mg/100 g) and olive oil (162.41 mg/100 g). the content of squalene in soybean oil was 92.07 mg/100 g. the results indicated that the method could be used for the simultaneous analysis of phytosterols, tocopherols, and squalene in vegetable oils.