Liquid chromatographic-fluorometric determination of cinnamyl alcohol in perfumes, colognes, and toilet waters

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method is described for the determination of cinnamyl alcohol (3-phenyl-2-propen-1-ol) in fragrance compositions. The fragrance product is partially cleaned up by diluting the fragrance with a 95% ethanol-water mixture and passing it through a short column containing RP-8 packing. An aliquot of the effluent is then analyzed by LC using an RP-18 column interfaced to a spectrophotofluorometer equipped with double monochromators. The fluorescence emission intensity of the eluted cinnamyl alcohol is measured and compared with that of a standard to calculate the amount of cinnamyl alcohol present. Recoveries from fragrance products fortified with cinnamyl alcohol at levels ranging from 0.0020 to 0.060 mg/mL ranged from 85 to 105% with a mean of 94%. The lowest level of determination was 0.0005 mg/mL.