Simultaneous determination of some heterocyclic amines (HCAs) in processed foods by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS)

Abstract

Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) are a group of more than 25 chemical compounds containing at least one heterocyclic ring, often produced during the processing of foods such as meat and fish at high temperatures. HCAs have been shown to be carcinogenic and mutagenic. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified IQ as group 2A and 9 substances including MeIQ, MeIQx, PhIP, AαC, MeAαC, Trp-P- 1, Trp-P-2, Glu-P-1, Glu-P-2 as group 2B, the group that can cause cancer in humans. Human health is seriously harmed if food contaminated with HCAs is regularly consumed. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method to simultaneously analyze HCAs in food to assess the risk of processed foods in Vietnam. In this study, 10 HCAs in the IARC list were studied and identified by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) using a C18 chromatographic column, positive ion electrospray ionization source ESI (+), multiple reaction ion monitoring (MRM) mode. The results showed that the method had good specificity, the standard curve was built in the concentration range of 0.05 - 10 µg/kg, the detection limit was from 0.015 - 0.15 µg/kg, the quantification limit was from 0.05 - 0.5 µg/kg; the precision and accuracy met the requirements according to AOAC. The method was used to analyze the HCAs content in 23 processed food samples in Hanoi. The results showed that 22/23 samples detected HCAs, the sample with the highest content was up to 17.9 µg/kg.