Comparison of segmented flow analysis and ion chromatography for the quantitative characterization of carbohydrates in tobacco products.

Segmented flow analysis (SFA) and ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (IC-PAD) are widely used analytical techniques for the analysis of glucose, fructose, and sucrose in tobacco. In the work presented here, 27 cured tobacco leaves and 21 tobacco products were analyzed for sugars using SFA and IC. The results of these analyses demonstrated that both techniques identified the same trends in sugar content across tobacco leaf and tobacco product types. However, comparison of results between techniques was limited by the selectivity of the SFA method, which relies on the specificity of the reaction of p-hydroxybenzoic acid hydrazide (PAHBAH) with glucose and fructose to generate a detectable derivative. Sugar amines and chlorogenic acid, which are found in tobacco, are also known to react with PAHBAH to form a reaction product that interferes with the analysis of fructose and glucose. To mitigate this problem, solid phase extraction (SPE) was used to remove interferences such as sugar amines and chlorogenic acid from sample matrices prior to SFA. A combination of C18 and cation exchange solid phase extraction cartridges was used, and the results from SFA and IC analyses showed significant convergence in the results of both analytical methods. For example, the average difference between the results from the SFA and IC analyses for flue-cured tobacco samples dropped by 73% when the two-step C18/cation exchange resin sample cleanup was used.