Determination of 4-hexylresorcinol in shrimp by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection.

A method was developed to determine 4-hexylresorcinol in shrimp meat. The procedure is based on extraction of test portions with methanol followed by liquid chromatographic analysis of the extracts, using a reversed-phase column and fluorimetric detection (excitation: 280 nm, and emission: 310 nm). The confidence interval of the recovery in working range of 1.5-2.5 mg/kg was 81.6 +/- 0.8%. The relative standard deviation in the working range was 2.1%. Limits of quantitation and detection were 6.59 and 1.98 ng/mL extract, respectively, corresponding to 0.26 and 0.08 mg/kg in shrimp.