Simultaneous detection of multiple phenolic compounds in fish by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry following a modified QuEChERS cleanup

Abstract

Phenolic compounds can cause health problems in humans through the food chain. Considering that fish play an important role in human diets, we established a rapid, simple and high-throughput method for the determination of 18 phenolic compounds in fish based on a modified QuEChERS sample preparation method combined with GC-MS. The average recovery of the 18 phenolic compounds was 81.3–116% at 3 spiked levels, and the relative standard deviations, RSD_r and RSD_wR, were in the range of 1.1–11.3% and 1.5–12.2%, respectively. The limit of detection was 2.0–10.1 μg/kg. Satisfactory linear relationships (R² > 0.998) were observed for the phenolic compounds in their corresponding concentration ranges. Moreover, the established method exhibited a high sensitivity, good stability, and reliability. The development of this method has an important theoretical and practical significance for establishing standards and to control the residue levels of phenolic compounds in fish.

Keywords:

• GC-MS
• modified QuEChERS
• determination
• phenolic compounds
• fish

Acknowledgment

Thanks to Ningbo Academy of Product and Food Quality Inspection (Ningbo Fibre Inspection Institute) for providing experimental sites and instruments for this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Fundings for this work was supported by the Science and Technology Plan Program of State Administration for Market Regulation [No. 2020MK117]; the Basic Public Welfare Research Project of Zhejiang Province [No. LGC20C200003]; the Science and Technology Plan Program of Zhejiang Administration for Market Regulation [No. 20210140]; Fan-3315 Innovation Team of Ningbo [No. 2018B-18-C]; the Public Welfare Research Project of Ningbo [2021S194], the Key Scientific Research Project of Ningbo [2021ZDYF020179] and the Ningbo High-Tech Elite Innovation Team (Yonggaoke [2018] No. 63).