Determination of sterols in rapeseed by pressurized liquid extraction with gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

The cholesterol, cholestanol, brassicasterol, ergosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, and stigmastanol content of rapeseed was determined herein. The sterols were isolated after derivatization and determination using pressurized liquid extraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The results revealed a good linear relationship between the peak area and the corresponding mass concentration of the eight sterols in the range of 2–1000 mg/L, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9991, detection limits of 1.12–1.52 mg/kg, quantification limits of 3.73–4.98 mg/kg, and satisfactory mean relative recoveries determined at 5–20 mg/kg and 200–1000 mg/kg. The mean relative recoveries were 92.5–104% at the mg/kg supplemental level, and the precision was under 4.8%. The developed method was efficient, simple, and accurate, suitable for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of sterols in rapeseed and providing a method for their rapid determination.