Abstract
A comprehensive strategy combining a quantitative method for 28 mycotoxins and a post-target screening for other 245 fungal and bacterial metabolites in dry pet food samples were developed using an acetonitrile-based extraction and an ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) method. The proposed method showed satisfactory validation results according to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. Average recoveries from 72 to 108% were obtained for all studied mycotoxins, and the intra-/inter-day precision were below 9 and 14%, respectively. Results showed mycotoxin contamination in 99% of pet food samples (n = 89) at concentrations of up to hundreds µg/kg, with emerging Fusarium mycotoxins being the most commonly detected mycotoxins. All positive samples showed co-occurrence of mycotoxins with the simultaneous presence of up to 16 analytes per sample. In the retrospective screening, up to 54 fungal metabolites were tentatively identified being cyclopiazonic acid, paspalitrem A, fusaric acid, and macrosporin, the most commonly detected analytes.
Highlights
Mycotoxins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi mainly belonging to Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria genera [1]
The aim of this work was to develop an analytical tool based on a ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC)-Q-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) method that combines quantitative target analysis for detection, quantification, and reliable identification of 28 mycotoxins from different fungi genera in pet food, with post-target screening of other 245 fungal and bacterial metabolites based on a comprehensive spectral library
The optimization of the Q-Orbitrap HRMS parameters was performed via direct infusion of each mycotoxin standard (n = 28) diluted at 1 μg/mL into the Q-Orbitrap system using a flow rate of 8 μL/min
Summary
Mycotoxins are a group of toxic secondary metabolites produced by fungi mainly belonging to Aspergillus, Penicillium, Fusarium, and Alternaria genera [1]. Due to the great structural diversity of these toxic compounds, they display a wide range of deleterious effects, including carcinogenic, hepatotoxic, nephrotoxic, teratogenic, heamatotoxic, immunotoxic, and hormonal or reproductive effects [2,3]. Mycotoxins pose a challenge to food safety as they are unavoidable and unpredictable contaminants in crops. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that over one-quarter of the world’s food crop are contaminated with mycotoxins [4]. The mycotoxins with greatest agro-economic and health impact are aflatoxins (AFs), ochratoxin A (OTA), zearalenone (ZEN), fumonisins (FBs), and trichothecenes [5]. Attention to the risk posed to human and animal health has been extended to the so-called emerging Fusarium mycotoxins
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