Nicotine determination in mushrooms by LC–MS/MS with preliminary studies on the impact of drying on nicotine formation

Abstract

A problem concerning significant amounts of nicotine in dried wild mushrooms (mainly Boletus edulis from China) has been reported to the European Commission. As a consequence, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) proposed temporary maximum residue levels (MRLs) of 0.036 mg kg(-1) for fresh wild mushrooms and 1.17 mg kg(-1) for dried wild mushrooms (2.3 mg kg(-1) for dried ceps only). The EFSA also highlighted the necessity for a monitoring and testing programme to be launched by food business operators at the start of the 2009 harvest season. In the present study, a quick and sensitive analytical method for routine analysis of nicotine in fresh and dried mushrooms was developed and validated by a single-laboratory procedure. The method, which employs an LC-MS/MS system and (+/-)-nicotine-d(4) as internal standard, has a limit of quantification of 6 and 60 microg kg(-1) for fresh and dried product, respectively. Analyses of samples spiked with different levels of nicotine showed recoveries ranging from 107 to 122%, with relative standard deviations of 2.9-10.1% depending on the spiking level. The combined uncertainties, calculated at a low level for frozen (0.015 mg kg(-1)) and a high level for the dried (2 mg kg(-1)) matrix, were 13 and 10%, respectively. Application of the method to real samples of mushrooms purchased on the market or obtained from local producers showed nicotine levels ranging 0.01-0.04 and 0.1-4.5 mg kg(-1) in fresh/frozen and dried matrices, respectively. To establish reasons for the unexpectedly high levels of the nicotine in dried matrices, preliminary laboratory experiments involving drying mushrooms were performed under various conditions.

Down-Regulation of Decapping Protein 2 Mediates Chronic Nicotine Exposure-Induced Locomotor Hyperactivity in Drosophila

“…Flies were fed with normal food or 3 mM nicotine-containing food for 4 consective days, and nicotine concentration was measured by HPLC at the end of 4 th day [55]. Each sample included about 200 whole flies or 1,000 heads, and every group included three independent samples.…”

Quantitative validation of nicotine production in tea (Camellia sinensis L.)

“…Nicotine extraction from tea samples was carried out according to the modified QuEChERS method of Cavalieri et al [ 16 ]. One gram of powdered tea sample was added to a 50-mL polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) centrifuge tube along with 50 μL of nicotine d 3 internal standard (Sigma, MO, USA) at a concentration of 5 μg mL −1 .…”

What’s for dinner this time?: DNA authentication of “wild mushrooms” in food products sold in the USA

“…Although wild edible mushrooms, such as porcini ( Boletus edulis and allies), are not considered to be poisonous, rare allergic responses following ingestion have been documented ( e.g ., Fischer et al, 2017 ) and unintentional adulteration with exogenous chemicals can occur through environmental contamination or during processing. In fact, in 2010, nicotine levels in mushrooms exported from China were found to exceed the maximum residue levels set by the European Food Safety Authority ( Cavalieri, Bolzoni & Bandini, 2010 ). Even without exogenous contamination, many species of mushroom have never been systematically examined for their edibility, especially those that originate from regions where fungi are severely under-documented ( Li et al, 2021 ).…”