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. 2018 Sep 21;10(10):382.
doi: 10.3390/toxins10100382.

Development and Application of a QuEChERS-Based Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method to Quantitate Multi-Component Alternaria Toxins in Jujube

Cheng Wang  1   2   3 , Yingying Fan  4   5 , Weizhong He  6   7 , Dongqiang Hu  8 , Aibo Wu  9 , Wenliang Wu  10
Affiliations

Development and Application of a QuEChERS-Based Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method to Quantitate Multi-Component Alternaria Toxins in Jujube

Cheng Wang et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

A simple, rapid and efficient methodology was developed and validated for the analysis of four Alternaria toxins in jujube: Tenuazonic acid, alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, and tentoxin. Under the optimized extraction procedure, chromatographic conditions, and instrumental parameters, the four toxins were effectively extracted via a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method, and quantified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Matrix-matched calibrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.5 μg mL-1 were conducted for the quantification due to the matrix effect. A blank jujube sample was spiked at 40, 80 and 160 μg kg-1, obtaining recoveries in the range of 83.5⁻109.6%. Limits of detection and limits of quantification were in the range of 0.14⁻0.26 and 0.47⁻0.87 μg kg-1, respectively. Finally, the developed method was applied for the quantification of the four toxins in 14 jujube samples, including black spot-infected and uninfected samples. Results showed that the predominant toxin detected in all the samples was tenuazonic acid, the content of which was associated with the infection level; alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, and tentoxin were detected in all the infected samples and some of the uninfected samples with rather low contents.

Keywords: Alternaria toxins; QuEChERS; UPLC-MS/MS; jujube.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of the ratio of sample/water (m/v) on the extraction recoveries (ERs%) of four Alternaria toxins: tenuazonic acid (TeA), alternariol (AOH), alternariol monomethyl ether (AME), and tentoxin (TEN).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of (a) the volume of MeCN and (b) percent of acetic acid on the ERs% of four Alternaria toxins: TeA, AOH, AME and TEN.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of (a) the amount of MgSO4 and (b) NaCl on the extraction recoveries (ERs%) of four Alternaria toxins: TeA, AOH, AME and TEN.
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