Abstract # B-05

Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Organosulfur Compounds Found in Ramp (Allium tricoccum Ait.) Homogenates. Elizabeth M. Calvey1*, Eric Block2, Jean E. Matusik1, Kevin D. White1.  1Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, Washington, DC 20204, 2State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12222.

Supercritical fluid (SF) technology employing CO2 is a viable alternative for the extraction of natural products because of the heightened awareness of the cost and safety hazards associated with the use and disposal of conventional organic solvents. SF extracts of ramp (Allium tricoccum Ait.) are characterized using liquid chromatography with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometric detection. The major thiosulfinates and related compounds found in ramp are readily characterized by this technique. Botanically, ramp is closely related to wild garlic (A. ursinum) and the relative amounts of thiosulfinates found in the ramp extracts are similar for those reported for wild garlic. A comparison is made between SF extracts of ramp and those of garlic (A. sativum) and onion (A. cepa).