Determination of Six Eugenol Residues in Aquatic Products by Gas Chromatography-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Eugenol compounds are widely used in the circulation and transportation of fresh aquatic products because of their good anesthetic effects. However, some studies have shown that eugenol compounds are potential carcinogens. Therefore, in order to ensure the edible safety of aquatic products, eugenol compounds in aquatic products need to be screened quickly. A method for determination of six eugenol residues in aquatic products was established by multiplug filtration cleanup (m-PFC), combined with gas chromatography-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (Orbitrap GC-MS). Samples were ultrasonically extracted with acetonitrile, and the extracts were frozen at −18°C for 1 h, then purified with the m-PFC column, and detected by Orbitrap GC-MS in full scan mode. The results showed the linear relationships for six eugenols were good in the range of 0.001–0.1 μg/mL, and the correlation coefficients (R2) were above 0.9950. The limits of detection (LODs) were 2–10 μg/kg, and the limits of quantitation (LOQs) were 5–20 μg/kg. The average recoveries at the spiked levels of 5–200 μg/kg were in the range of 76.4%–105.1%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 1.2%–7.5%. Eighty aquatic products were detected by this method, of which only eugenol was detected in 12 samples, and eugenol and isoeugenol were detected in two samples at the same time. The other eugenol compounds were not detected in any sample. The detection rate of positive samples was 17.5%. The method is simple, accurate, and suitable for the rapid screening of eugenol compounds in aquatic products.

Analysis and Stability Study of Isoeugenol in Aquaculture Products by Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction Coupled to Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

“…While other previously established GC methods for isoeugenol or similar volatile phenols have primarily used HRMS, MS/MS, or FID for detection, − this work uses a single quadrupole. Without the sensitivity and selectivity of MS/MS, a slow, 27 min, temperature ramp rate (2 °C/min) was used to separate isoeugenol from other background interferences.…”

“…Alternatively, isoeugenol is a volatile phenol and is well suited to gas chromatography (GC)-MS analysis and has previously been included in phenolic compound analyses. − Many of these methods still utilize a solvent extraction prior to GC-MS analysis. For example, Huang et al., Ke et al, Li et al, and Yan et al all utilized different multistep solvent extractions to isolate eugenol and/or several of its isomers (including isoeugenol) from aquaculture products prior to Orbitrap GC-MS, GC-MS/MS, and GC-flame ionization detector (FID) analysis, respectively. − …”

Development of broad-spectrum immunoassay with monoclonal antibody to detect five eugenols and study of their molecular recognition mechanism

“…Japan permits using eugenol in fish anesthesia, but set a maximum residue limit of 0.05 mg/kg for eugenol in aquatic products ( Sun et al, 2017 ). In China, while EUGs are permitted as flavorings in specific food products ( Huang et al, 2021 , Ke et al, 2016 ), there are no regulations that stipulate allowable anesthetics or residue levels for aquatic products. Therefore, efficient analytical methods are essential for monitoring EUGs residues in aquatic products to mitigate the potential health impact of EUG-contaminated fish on human health.…”

“…At present, the determination of EUGs largely relies on instrumental analysis techniques, including HPLC ( Thyagaraj et al, 2013 ; Y., 2018), GC–MS ( Huang et al, 2021 ), LC-MS/MS ( Ren et al, 2016 ), and UPLC-MS/MS ( Sun et al, 2017 , Zhao et al, 2017 ). These methods have proven to be sensitive and accurate in detecting EUGs residue levels; however, they necessitate costly instrument, highly skilled technicians, and complex sample preparation processes.…”