Simple HPLC-Fluorescence Determination of Raspberry Ketone in Fragrance Mist after Pre-Column Derivatization with 4-Hydrazino-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole

Raspberry ketone {RK, 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)butan-2-one} is a natural compound contained in raspberry, and is added to cosmetics for skin whitening. It is very important to measure the RK level in cosmetics for quality assessment, since RK structurally resembles 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanol, which causes leukoderma on consumers’ skin. Here, we present a simple HPLC-fluorescence method for determination of RK in a fragrance mist by pre-column derivatization with 4-hydrazino-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole hydrazine (NBD-H), which reacts with the carbonyl group of RK. The NBD-RK derivative was eluted from a reversed-phase ODS column, and detected with excitation at 470 nm and emission at 550 nm. The retention time of NBD-RK derivative obtained by reaction with NBD-H at 80°C for 20 min was 10.3 min. The standard curve was linear in the range of 0.2 to 10 μg/mL, with a correlation coefficient (r²) value of 0.9980. The lower limit of detection was 0.018 μg/mL (absolute amount of 1.8 pmol). The coefficients of variation were less than 8.1%. The content of RK in fragrance mist (1.00 mL) was 1.18 ± 0.07 mg (range: 1.12 to 1.28 mg, n = 5). Recovery tests were satisfactory (83.9% ± 3.9%; range: 79.6 to 88.8%, n = 5).