Simultaneous determination of organic acids and nitrate in xylem saps of the hyperaccumulator <i>Alyssum murale</i> by RP-HPLC after solid-phase extraction with nano-sized hydroxyapatite

An analytical approach based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) with nanosized hydroxyapatite and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) for the simultaneous determination of organic acids (oxalic, malic, malonic, citric, and fumaric) and nitrate in xylem saps of the hyperaccumulator <i>Alyssum murale</i> is presented in this study. The optimum experimental conditions for the separation and determination of organic acids and nitrate are studied. The interference from nitrate on oxalic acid in RP-HPLC is eliminated by SPE with nanosized hydroxyapatite, and the simultaneous determination of organic acids and nitrate is achieved by RP-HPLC at the optimum chromatographic conditions. The accuracy of the method is confirmed with an average recovery ranging between 95.2% and 99.8%, the relative standard deviations (RSD) are less than 2.0%. This method is successfully applied to determine the organic acids and nitrate in xylem saps of the hyperaccumulator <i>Alyssum murale</i>.