Development of a Multi-mycotoxin Analysis in Beer-based Drinks by a Modified QuEChERS Method and Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

An analytical method was developed for the identification and quantification of 15 mycotoxins (patulin, nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, G2, M1, T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, zearalenone, fumonisin B1, B2, B3, and ochratoxin A) in beer-based drinks (beer, low-malt beer, new genre, and nonalcoholic) by a modified QuEChERS method and an ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/MS/MS). Mycotoxins were extracted from samples using acetonitrile with sodium chloride, anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and sodium citrate, and were then purified with a solid phase extraction (SPE) cartridge including C18. The UHPLC conditions were also examined to establish its optimal conditions for separation. Fifteen mycotoxins were separated in a total of 6.5 min, and were quantified in the optimal mobile phase conditions. Determinations performed using this method produced high correlation coefficients of 15 mycotoxins (R > 0.99) and recovery rates ranging from 70.3 to 110.7% with good repeatability (relative standard deviation RSD < 14.6%). Further, 24 commercial beer-based drinks in Japan were analyzed using this method, and nivalenol, deoxynivalenol, and fumonisins were detected in several samples, but always under the limit of quantification (< 5 ng/mL). These results suggest that the health risk to consumers from beer-based drinks in Japan is relatively low.

Determination of mycotoxins in pomegranate fruits and juices using a QuEChERS-based method

“…Graphitized carbon black (GCB), a common sorbent in the original QuEChERS method, was not used due to the sorption of the target mycotoxins resulting in lower recovery values. Mycotoxins adsorption on graphitized carbon black has also been reported by other researchers (Tamura, Uyama, & Mochizuki, 2011).…”

A review of recent developments and trends in the QuEChERS sample preparation approach

“…Pizzutti et al developed, optimized and validated a multiresidue method for the determination of 36 mycotoxins in wines by LC-MS/ MS [77]. Multi-mycotoxin analysis in beer-based drinks by a modified QuEChERS method and UHPLC-MS/MS was conducted by Tamura et al [78]. Evaluation of mycotoxins and their metabolites in human breast milk by a newly developed method based on QuEChERS extraction and UHPLC-HRMS detection was carried out by Rubert et al [79].…”

Occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins and their dietary intake through beer consumption by the European population

“…Sample preparation method still remains the bottleneck in the entire protocol because of the wide range of properties of the several mycotoxins and food matrix. Sample preparation techniques such as SPE (Romero-González, Martínez Vidal, Aguilera-Luiz, & Garrido Frenich, 2009), immunoaffinity columns (Bertuzzi, Rastelli, Mulazzi, Donadini, & Pietri, 2011), QuEChERS (Tamura, Uyama, & Mochizuki, 2011) or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Kuzdraliń ski, Solarska, & Muszyń ska, 2013) have been employed in multi-mycotoxin analysis in beer yielding in general satisfactory results. Analytical procedures based on chromatographic principles such as gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) (Scott, Kanhere, & Weber, 1993) and/or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS), (Malachova, Varga, Schwartz, Krska, & Berthiller, 2012)for developing multi-mycotoxin methods in several foodstuffs have been widely employed.…”