Detection of six common trichothecene toxins in oats by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

ObjectiveTo establish a method using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) for the detection of six common trichothecene toxins in oats.MethodsOats were selected as the research subject in this study. Response surface design was used to optimize the QuEChERS extraction method. Additionally, a rapid and efficient strategy for sample extraction and purification was developed. Combined with UHPLC-MS/MS, six commonly co-occurring trichothecene toxins in oats were quantitatively analyzed simultaneously.ResultsThis method demonstrated good analytical performance for each analyte across the corresponding concentration ranges (r>0.99), with accuracy ranging from 87.26% to 99.64%. The inter-day and intra-day relative standard deviations were less than 6.8% and 5.5%, respectively, indicating its potential for practical application. This method was used to detect mycotoxins in 12 oat samples from China, and it was found that one sample exceeded the standard limits for deoxynivalenol (DON), and the co-contamination of trichothecene toxin was prevalent.ConclusionThe risk posed by these toxins has been underestimated. Ongoing, extensive monitoring is necessary to provide contamination data to assess the consumer risk.

Keywords

• trichothecene toxin
• oat
• response surface
• ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (uhplc-ms/ms)