SummaryThis paper describes the fragmentation patterns and the GC-MS quantitation possibilities of the trimethylsilyl derivatives of thirty-one aromatic carboxylic acids, using ion trap detection (ITD). Sixteen aralkyl carboxylic acids, including those containing a saturated aliphatic side chain {phenylacetic, 2-phenylbutyric, phenylglycolic (mandelic acid), l]-phenyllactic, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic, 13-phenylpyruvic and 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-propionic acids} and those with an unsaturated aliphatic side chain {cinnamic, 2-hydroxyeinnamic (o-coumaric), 4-methoxycinnamic, 3-hydroxycinnamic (m-coumaric), 4-hydroxycinnamic (p-coumaric), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxycinnamic (ferulic acid), 3,4-dihydroxycinnamic (caffeic), and 4-dihydroxy-3,5-dimethoxycinnamic (sinapic) acids}, as well as, the fifteen hydroxy(methoxy)benzoic acids {benzoic, 2-hydroxybenzoic (salicylic), 3-hydroxybenzoic, 4-hydroxybenzoic, 3,5-dimethoxybenzoic, 3,4-dimethoxybenzoic (veratric), 2,6-dihydroxybenzoic (y-resorcylic), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzoic (vanillic), 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic (gentisic), 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic (~-resorcylic), 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic (protocatechuic), 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic (a-resorcylic), 2,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic (asaronic), 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxybenzoic (syringic) and 3,4,5,-trihydroxybenzoic (gallic) acids}, provided distinct fragmentation characteristics that were very useful for their identification and simultaneously quantitation. Based on 1-20 ng amounts of acids, very informative ions of high mass with considerable intensities (