Extraction and Analysis of Xylitol in Sugar-Free Gum Samples by GC-MS with Direct Aqueous Injection

Abstract EN

Xylitol, a sugar substitute frequently used in sugar-free gum, is generally considered harmless to humans but it can be extremely toxic to dogs.

Dog-owning customers are becoming increasingly aware of the risks associated with xylitol-containing chewing gums.

However, there remains some uncertainty if these chewing gums are still dangerous to dogs after they have been partially consumed.

In this work, a reliable low-cost analytical method has been developed to quantify the xylitol in sugar-free gum samples.

Xylitol was extracted from gum samples using water as a solvent.

Extractions were analyzed by GC-MS with direct aqueous injection (DAI).

This method was successfully applied to over 120 samples including fresh gum and 5 min, 15 min, and 30 min chewed gum samples.