Miso Nam (Korea Food Research Institute)

Min-Sun Kim (Korea Food Research Institute)

Miso Nam (Korea Food Research Institute)

Min-Sun Kim (Korea Food Research Institute)

An analytical method has been developed for measuring ergot alkaloids in food such as rye flour, bread, cracker, and beer. Extraction of ergot alkaloids from food samples was carried out by shake extraction using ACN:3 mM ammonium carbonate = 85:15 mixture. Most of the interferences in the extract were eliminated by column cleanup. During column cleanup, about 90% of the interferences extracted from the food samples were easily removed without any significant losses of ergot alkaloids. Quantification was performed using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring mode. Spiking experiments were carried out to determine the recovery, precision, and limits of detection (LODs) of the method. The overall recovery was above 80% in the spiked food sample at 10 and 100 μg/kg levels, respectively. The detection limits for ergot alkaloids were ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 μg/kg. This developed method is demonstrated to give efficient recoveries and LODs for detecting ergot alkaloids spiked into various food matrix.

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