Development of a QuEChERS-Based UHPLC-MS/MS Method for Simultaneous Determination of Six <i>Alternaria</i> Toxins in Grapes
Wenbo Guo,
Kai Fan,
Dongxia Nie,
Jiajia Meng,
Qingwen Huang,
Junhua Yang,
Yuanyuan Shen,
Emmanuel K. Tangni,
Zhihui Zhao,
Yongjiang Wu,
Zheng Han
Affiliations
Wenbo Guo
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Kai Fan
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Dongxia Nie
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Jiajia Meng
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Qingwen Huang
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Junhua Yang
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Yuanyuan Shen
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Emmanuel K. Tangni
Organic Contaminants and Additives, Sciensano, Tervuren 3080, Belgium
Zhihui Zhao
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
Yongjiang Wu
College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China;
Zheng Han
Institute for Agro-food Standards and Testing Technology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Protected Horticultural Technology, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201403, China
A simple and reliable analytical method for the simultaneous determination of alternariol (AOH), altenuene (ALT), tentoxin (TEN), altenusin (ALS), tenuazonic acid (TeA), and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) in grapes was developed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography⁻tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). A modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) procedure with the extraction by acetonitrile and purification by sodium chloride (0.5 g) and anhydrous magnesium sulfate (0.5 g) was established to recover the six Alternaria toxins. After validation by determining the linearity (R2 > 0.99), recovery (77.8⁻101.6%), sensitivity (limit of detection in the range of 0.03⁻0.21 μg kg−1, and limit of quantification in the range of 0.09⁻0.48 μg kg−1), and precision (relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤ 12.9%), the analytical method was successfully applied to reveal the contamination state of Alternaria toxins in grapes. Among 56 grape samples, 40 (incidence of 71.4%) were contaminated with Alternaria toxins. TEN was the most frequently found mycotoxin (37.5%), with a concentration range of 0.10⁻1.64 μg kg−1, followed by TeA (28.6%) and AOH (26.8%). ALT (10.7%), AME (3.6%), and ALS (5.4%) were also detected in some samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the Alternaria toxins contamination in grapes in China.
