Fast UPLC/PDA determination of squalene in Sicilian P.D.O. pistachio from Bronte: Optimization of oil extraction method and analytical characterization

A fast reversed-phase UPLC method was developed for squalene determination in Sicilian pistachio samples that entry in the European register of the products with P.D.O. In the present study the SPE procedure was optimized for the squalene extraction prior to the UPLC/PDA analysis. The precision of the full analytical procedure was satisfactory and the mean recoveries were 92.8 ± 0.3% and 96.6 ± 0.1% for 25 and 50 mg L1 level of addition, respectively. Selected chromatographic conditions allowed a very fast squalene determination; in fact it was well separated in 0.54 min with good resolution. Squalene was detected in all the pistachio samples analyzed and the levels ranged from 55.45–226.34 mg kg1 . Comparing our results with those of other studies it emerges that squalene contents in P.D.O. Sicilian pistachio samples, generally, were higher than those measured for other samples of different geographic origins.