Evaluation of matrix effect in one-dimensional and comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography for the determination of the phenolic fraction in extra virgin olive oils

Olea europaea, meaning “European olive,” is a small tree belonging to the family Oleaceae, occurring in the Mediterranean Basin. Olive oil is an essential component of a balanced diet because of its nutritional value. Among micronutrients, phenolic compounds did show important beneficial effects for human health. The majority of the research studies on the phenol content are carried out by liquid chromatography combined to photodiode array and/or mass spectrometry detection; however, because of matrix complexity, one-dimensional liquid chromatography cannot be sometimes sufficient to obtain rewarding separations, requiring more advanced analytical techniques. In this work, comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography, incorporating RP-Amide and C18 stationary phases, in the first and second dimension, respectively, both under reversed phase conditions, was investigated for the determination of the phenolic fraction in extra virgin olive oil samples. As far as detection is concerned, triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was employed under multi reaction monitoring mode offering superior selectivity and sensitivity. The reduction of matrix effects, when using comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography with respect to conventional one-dimensional liquid chromatography, was assessed by comparing the slopes of calibration curves built from standard solutions and spiked olive oil samples.