ABSTRACT
Honey contaminated with pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) could pose a risk for human consumption, being a widely consumed food product. A fast and simple LC/MS method for the analysis of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in honey was optimised to collect occurrence data. The extraction efficiency was evaluated by a systematic study of multiple solvent mixtures and clean-up procedures. The best results for PA extraction were obtained using a formic acid/methanol mixture with subsequent clean-up by the QuEChERS method, resulting in a mean recovery range of 91.8–102%. The method validation showed satisfactory intra-day (RSD < 5.1%) and inter-day precision (RSD < 9.1%). The proposed method was applied to 14 samples. A total of six PAs and two N-oxides were detected, with levels between 89 and 8188 µg/kg. This assessment highlights the potential risk of intoxication and the need for further investigations regarding an effective quality system for manufacturers to control PAs in honey.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the OPCW for the project titled: “Risk Analysis of Natural Toxic Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in the Food Chain: Development, Validation and Application of HPLC/MSn Methods”, Grant L/ICA/ICB/222477/20. The authors also express gratitude to CEEPUS M-RO-0010-2223-165681 “Teaching and Learning Bioanalysis” Network for the mobility grants that made possible the North Macedonian-Croatian cooperation in this paper.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/19393210.2023.2266701.