Mycotoxins can occur naturally in a variety of agriculture products, including cereals, feeds, and Chinese herbal medicines (TCMs), via pre- and post-harvest contamination and are regulated worldwide. However, risk mitigation by monitoring for multiple mycotoxins remains a challenge using existing methods due to their complex matrices. A multi-toxin method for 22 mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, G2, M1, M2; ochratoxin A, B, C; Fumonisin B1, B2, B3; 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol, 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol, diace-toxyscirpenol, HT-2, T-2, deepoxy-deoxynivalenol, deoxynivalenol, neosolaniol, zearalenone, and sterigmatocystin) using centrifugation-assisted solid-phase extraction (SPE) clean-up prior to ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis for Arecae Semen and its processed products was developed and validated. Several experimental parameters affecting the extraction and clean-up efficiency were systematically optimized. The results indicated good linearity in the range of 0.1-1000 μg/kg (r2 > 0.99), low limits of detection (ranging from 0.04 μg/kg to 1.5 μg/kg), acceptable precisions, and satisfactory recoveries for the selected mycotoxins. The validated method was then applied to investigate mycotoxin contamination levels in Areca catechu and its processed products. The mycotoxins frequently contaminating Areca catechu were aflatoxins (AFs), and the average contamination level and number of co-occurring mycotoxins in the Arecae Semen slices (Binlangpian) were higher than those in commercially whole Arecae Semen and Arecae Semen Tostum (Jiaobinlang). Sterigmatocystin was detected in 5 out of 30 Arecae Semen slices. None of the investigated mycotoxins were detected in Arecae pericarpium (Dafupi). The results demonstrated that centrifugation-assisted SPE coupled with UHPLC-MS/MS can be a useful tool for the analysis of multiple mycotoxins in Areca catechu and its processed products.
Keywords: Areca catechu; SPE; UPLC-MS/MS; multi-mycotoxins.