Simultaneous determination of oleuropein and its metabolites in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography

• Published in: Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences Vol. 785; no. 1; pp. 157 - 164
• Main Authors: Tsarbopoulos, Anthony, Gikas, Evangelos, Papadopoulos, Nicolaos, Aligiannis, Nektarios, Kafatos, Anthony
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 25.02.2003
• Subjects: Biological Availability; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods; Hydroxytyrosol; Iridoids; Oleuropein; Pyrans - blood; Reference Standards; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Tyrosol; Hydroxytyrosol; Oleuropein; Tyrosol
• ISSN: 1570-0232; 1873-376X
• DOI: 10.1016/S1570-0232(02)00905-4

A method based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a diode array detection system was developed and validated aiming at the simultaneous determination of oleuropein (OE) and its metabolites, hydroxytyrosol (HT) and tyrosol (T), in human plasma. These phenolic components are believed to play a vital role in the prevention of coronary artery disease and atherosclerosis. The proposed method includes a clean-up solid-phase extraction procedure (using a C 18 column) with high recovery efficiency (85–100%). The statistical evaluation of the method reveals good linearity, accuracy and reproducibility for all the compounds analyzed with RSD values less than 6.5%, while the detection limit is 50 ng/ml for both OE and T and 75 ng/ml for HT. This assay can be employed in bioavailability studies of olive oil phenolic compounds, thus assisting the evaluation of their pharmacological role.