ABSTRACT
As ß-carboline (ßC) alkaloids, posing potential health risks, are present in a wide variety of foods, determining the exposure degrees of food to these alkaloids from dietary activity is key to ensuring food safety. Here, we developed a rapid and sensitive simultaneous analytical method for six ßC alkaloids in food. We optimized the buffered QuEChERS method, which includes a clean-up process through dispersive solid phase extraction, to extract the target compounds from food matrices; then, these compounds were detected via liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We established calibration ranges for each target compound and matrix within the range of 0.05-250 µg/kg, and verified linearity (R2 ≥ 0.99) and limit of quantitation (≤1.63 µg/kg). Furthermore, we validated trueness (85.8%-118.8%) and precision (≤18.7%) at three levels within the calibration range, including the lowest and highest concentrations. Finally, we employed the developed method to determine the ßC alkaloid contents in 304 samples of 41 food items and dietary exposure of six ßC alkaloids resulting from daily intake. Although ßC alkaloids were detected in 86.2% of the samples, exposure level to the 41 food items was insufficient to cause toxicity.
