Detection and quantification of zearalenone and its modified forms in enzymatically treated oat and wheat flour

Xenia Pascari; Stefan Weigel; Sonia Marin; Vicente Sanchis; Ronald Maul

doi:10.1007/s13197-023-05683-6

Detection and quantification of zearalenone and its modified forms in enzymatically treated oat and wheat flour

J Food Sci Technol. 2023 Apr;60(4):1367-1375. doi: 10.1007/s13197-023-05683-6. Epub 2023 Feb 15.

Authors

Xenia Pascari¹, Stefan Weigel², Sonia Marin¹, Vicente Sanchis¹, Ronald Maul^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Applied Mycology Unit, Food Technology Department, University of Lleida, UTPV-XaRTA, Agrotecnio, Av. Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain.
² Department Safety in the Food Chain, BfR German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Max-Dohrn-Str. 8-10, 10589 Berlin, Germany.
³ Department of Safety and Quality of Milk and Fish Products, Max Rubner-Institut, Federal Research Institute of Nutrition and Food, Hermann-Weigmann-Straße 1, 24103 Kiel, Germany.

Abstract

An analytical method for the analysis of the mycotoxin zearalenone (ZEN) and its modified forms was developed. Sample preparation was performed based on a modified QuEChERS method combined with liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometry detection. The method was tested for linearity, precision, limits of detection and quantification and recoveries. The evaluation of the above-mentioned parameters was performed on oat flour. The method was applied to oat and wheat flours that were submitted to an amylolytic treatment (α-amylase and amyloglucosidase), similar to the one used in the cereal-based baby food production process. A decrease in β-zearalenol (β-ZEL) and β-ZEL-14-sulfate of approximately 40% after 90 min incubation was observed, the other analytes did not show any significant changes. To our knowledge, this is the first method that approaches the identification and assessment of ZEN-sulfate derivates in a cereal matrix.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05683-6.

Keywords: Amylolytic enzymes; MS/MS; QuEChERS; Sulfate conjugates; Zearalenol.