Comparison of different analytical methods on determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ketchup-flavored sunflower seed

It is well-established that the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in food can trigger the activation of carcinogenic agents, leading to genotoxic and mutagenic effects. Several analytical techniques have been employed to determine PAH levels in food. The effectiveness of extracting PAH concentrations from food samples relies on the specific extraction methods. Also, the selection of the extraction method is influenced by the characteristics of the food. The main purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency of two extraction methods for the analysis of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ketchup-flavored sunflower seeds. The separation of PAHs was carried out using the soxhlet extraction method and sonication extraction method. The efficiencies of extraction were determined through a thorough analysis using GC/MS. In this study, there was no significant difference between soxhlet and sonicate extraction methods in extracting a total 16 PAH (p<0.05).