Determination of Trace Elements in Camellia Oil by Vortex-Assisted Extraction Followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

A simple vortex-assisted liquid–liquid extraction protocol followed by ICP-MS has been developed for the determination of nine elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, As, Zn, Cd, and Pb) in camellia oil samples. The key parameters affecting the extraction efficiency (extraction solvent characteristics, extraction time, and solvent/oil ratio) were carefully examined and optimized. Optimum results were obtained when 5 g of oil sample was used followed by vortex-assisted extraction for 20 min with 10 mL of 10 % HNO3 (v/v). Detection limits ranging from 0.03 to 1 μg L−1 and relative standard deviation lower than 6 % were obtained. The accuracy of the method was assessed by spiking experiments and comparison of the results from the extraction procedure with those obtained from microwave-assisted digestion of the samples. The recoveries were in the range of 84.3~102.3 %. No statistical differences, based on t test at a confidence level of 95 %, were detected. The proposed method was found to be simple, fast, and accurate when applied to camellia seed oil samples and has great potential in quantitatively detecting elements in various oils.