Determination of cinnamaldehyde residues in fresh fruits and meats by modified QuEChERS combined with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract

A method for the determination of cinnamaldehyde residues in fresh fruits and meats by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS) coupled with modified QuEChERS was developed. The samples were extracted with ethyl acetate. Solid phase extraction agents such as graphitized carbon black (GCB), primary-secondary amine (PSA) and octadecyl bonded silica (C18) were used for adsorption and purification. The extracts were detected by electron impact ionization in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode and quantified using external standard method. The results revealed correlation coefficients (R2) greater than 0.999 in the range of 0.01-0.5 mg/L. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.05 to 0.1 mg/kg. The recoveries at the three spiked levels ranged from 81.9% to 104.5% with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranging from 1.1% to 8.6%. The proposed method is efficient, sensitive, reliable, and is suitable for the trace determination of the cinnamaldehyde residues in fresh fruits and meats.