Simultaneous analysis of free phytosterols and phytosterol glycosides in rice bran by SPE/GC–MS

In this study, free phytosterols and phytosterol glycosides in rice bran were successfully separated and analyzed using solid-phase extraction (SPE) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed that free phytosterols in rice bran included ergosterol (129 ± 8 μg/g rice bran), campesterol (126 ± 9 μg/g rice bran), stigmasterol (106 ± 9 μg/g rice bran), β-sitosterol (305 ± 10 μg/g rice bran), cycloartenol (80.5 ± 3.9 μg/g rice bran) and 24-methylenecycloartenol (87.1 ± 2.2 μg/g rice bran), while phytosterol glycosides included campesterol glucoside (16.0 ± 1.3 μg/g rice bran), stigmasterol glucoside (99.0 ± 4.9 μg/g rice bran) and β-sitosterol glucoside (133 ± 7 μg/g rice bran). The methodological validation indicated that this method could accurately quantify free phytosterols and phytosterol glycosides in rice bran. This study provided a new direction to establish a rapid and simple method for the simultaneous determination of different forms of phytosterols in foods.