An analytical method for γ-oryzanol from foodstuffs was studied. γ-Oryzanol from rice bran is a mixture of several ferulate esters, cycroartenyl ferulate and 24-methylenecycloartanyl ferulate are major components. A reverse-phase HPLC method with electrochemical (ECD) and ultraviolet (UV) detection was used for separating the individual components of γ-oryzanol. As the pretreatment, the use of six kinds of solid-extraction cartrides for the extraction of γ-oryzanol was examined. C18 and Florisil types of solid-extraction cartridges were satisfactory for γ-oryzanol extraction from foodstuffs. The recovery of γ-oryzanol (major components) was more than 85 %. ECD was about 6-fold more sensitive than UV.
