A facile extraction method followed by UPLC-MS/MS for the analysis of aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in raw coffee beans

ABSTRACT

A UPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated for the determination of aflatoxin B₁ (AFB1), aflatoxin B₂ (AFB2), aflatoxin G₁ (AFG1), aflatoxin G₂ (AFG2) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in raw coffee samples. Mycotoxins were extracted using a modified QuEChERS method with little sample preparation excluding clean-up and enrichment procedures. Linearity was demonstrated for the five mycotoxins in the range 0.125–20 µg/kg. This method shows negligible matrix effect for individual concentrations, thus allowing the use of an external standard procedure. Limits of quantification (LOQ) ranged from 0.45 to 1 μg/kg. Recoveries between 63% and 89% were achieved. The intra- and inter-day precisions were lower than 15%. The applicability of the method was demonstrated, taking into account fitness for purpose, with simplicity, reliability, low costs and environmental friendliness. The results show that 3 out of 4 samples were contaminated with OTA.

KEYWORDS:

• Aflatoxins
• ochratoxin A
• UPLC-MS/MS
• raw coffee beans

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge ^“Laboratoire Marocain de l’Agriculture (LABOMAG), Casablanca, Morocco” for technical support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).