Validation of a HPLC method for quantification of limonene in nanoemulsions containing sicilian lemon essential oil and nanoemulsions containing red red mandarin essential oil

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to validate a liquid chromatography method for the quantification of the limonene compound present in different citrus essential oils, namely nanoemulsified essential oils of Sicilian lemon and Red Mandarin. The chromatographic separation of limonene was performed on a Lichrospher® 250 RP-18 reverse phase column, Lichrospher® 250 RP-18 pre-column, with a mixture of methanol and water in the radio (90:10) as mobile phase. The flow rate used was 0.6 mL/min, the injection volume was 20 µL, the wavelength was 213 nm and the run time was 15 minutes. The method was specific, linear (R²= 0.9978), precise (RSD: 0.6412 for nanoemulsion with lemon essential oil and RSD: 0.8585 for nanoemulsion with Red Mandarin essential oil), robust and accurate (from 83.5 to 92% recovery).