Measurement of phenol and p-cresol in urine and feces using vacuum microdistillation and high-performance liquid chromatography.
In this article, we describe a simple, sensitive, accurate, and repeatable method for the measurement of phenol and p-cresol (4-methylphenol) in human urine and feces. We examined a number of parameters to identify an optimal extraction protocol. Purification of sample extracts was achieved by low-temperature vacuum microdistillation. Separation was achieved in approximately 15 min by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with quantification by fluorescence at 284/310 nm. Limits of detection for phenol were 2 ng/ml for urine and 20 ng/g for feces, and those for p-cresol were 10 ng/ml for urine and 100 ng/g for feces. For comparison, approximate mean values for urine are 3 microg/ml for phenol and 30 microg/ml for p-cresol, and those for feces are 1 microg/g for phenol and 50 microg/g for p-cresol. An experienced analyst can process 60 samples each day using this method.
King
Roger A
RA
Food Futures National Research Flagship, CSIRO Human Nutrition, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
May
Bruce L
BL
Davies
Debbie A
DA
Bird
Anthony R
AR
D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D003408:Cresols / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D019800:Phenol / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine; D012016:Reference Values
D003408:Cresols; C032538:4-cresol; D019800:Phenol