| Abstract
| - Phenolic acids are aromatic secondary plant metabolites, widely spread throughout the plant kingdom.Existing analytical methods for phenolic acids originated from interest in their biological roles assecondary metabolites and from their roles in food quality and their organoleptic properties. Recentinterest in phenolic acids stems from their potential protective role, through ingestion of fruits andvegetables, against oxidative damage diseases (coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancers). Highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) as well as gas chromatography (GC) are the twoseparation techniques reviewed. Extraction from plant matrixes and cleavage reactions throughhydrolysis (acidic, basic, and enzymatic) are discussed as are the derivatization reagents used insample preparation for GC. Detection systems discussed include UV−Vis spectroscopy, massspectrometry, electrochemical, and fluorometric detection. The most common tandem techniquesare HPLC/UV and GC/MS, yet LC/MS is becoming more common. The masses and MS fragmentationpatterns of phenolic acids are discussed and tabulated as are the UV absorption maxima. Keywords: Phenolic acids; analytical methodology; HPLC; gas chromatography; mass spectrometry;antioxidant, foods
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