Optimized Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Method and High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Ultraviolet Detection for Simultaneous Determination of Sorbic and Benzoic Acids and Evaluation of Contamination of These Preservatives in Iranian Foods.

A rapid, simple, and sensitive dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction procedure followed by HPLC-UV was applied to determine the benzoate and sorbate in foods. The method was optimized for some variables including extraction solvent type and volume, dispersing solvent type and volume, and the effects of salt and pH. Optimum conditions were determined as follows: sample volume, 5 mL; extraction solvent (chloroform) volume, 250 μL; disperser solvent (acetone) volume, 1.2 mL; NaCl amount, 0.75 g/5 mL at pH 4. Sixty samples were analyzed, including 15 doogh, 15 fruit juice, 15 cookie, and 15 tomato paste; benzoic acid was detected in 57 samples (95%) at levels up to 448.1 μg/mL and sorbic acid in 31 samples (51.6%) at levels up to 1369 μg/mL. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the LOD and LOQ were determined as 0.1 and 0.5 μg/mL for benzoate and 0.08 and 0.3 μg/mL for sorbate, respectively. The results showed that these preservatives are commonly used at high levels in yogurt drinks (dooghs) and cookies. Also, the concentration of benzoic acid that was detected in the tomato paste and fruit juice samples was low but may affect children and sensitive persons.