Simultaneous quantitation of 17 female sex hormones in illegal products by validated LC-high resolution MS and LC-tandem MS methods.

Abstract

The consumption of food and drugs adulterated with female sex hormones can have an extremely adverse effect on human health. Therefore, developing appropriate monitoring methods for the identification of various exogenous female sex hormones is crucial for minimizing and eliminating the related health risks. Herein, 17 female hormones categorized into two groups, estrogen and progestin, were analyzed using reversed phase LC coupled to Orbitrap or triple quadrupole MS. The fragmentation patterns for all compounds were discovered, and fragmented structures were also derived from them through LC-high resolution MS followed by qualitative sample analysis. In addition, quantitative analysis of 67 samples of illicit drugs and dietary supplements was performed using the validated LC-tandem MS method. Female hormone components were detected in two samples of an unauthorized injectable solution and a tablet-type drug. Medroxyprogesterone was detected in the samples in the range of 96.4-206 ng/g. Notably, eight components similar in structure to steroids were simultaneously detected as male sex hormones by confirming their fragmentation ion patterns using LC-high resolution MS. The developed methods thus offer a dependable, and practically applicable approach for the screening and detection of exogenous female sex hormones in real food and drug samples to ensure public health. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.