LC-MS/MS Validation and Quantification of Cyanotoxins in Algal Food Supplements from the Belgium Market and Their Molecular Origins

Food supplements are gaining popularity worldwide. However, harmful natural compounds can contaminate these products. In the case of algae-based products, the presence of toxin-producing cyanobacteria may cause health risks. However, data about the prevalence of algal food supplements on the Belgian market and possible contaminations with cyanotoxins are scarce. Therefore, we optimized and validated a method based on Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry to quantify eight microcystin congeners and nodularin in algal food supplements. Our analytical method was su... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Wannes Hugo R. Van Hassel
Anne-Catherine Ahn
Bart Huybrechts
Julien Masquelier
Annick Wilmotte
Mirjana Andjelkovic
Dokumenttyp: Text
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Verlag/Hrsg.: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Schlagwörter: ultra-high performance liquid chromatography / Tandem Mass Spectrometry / BGAS / microcystin / Microcystis / sequencing / food safety
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-26982458
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins14080513

Food supplements are gaining popularity worldwide. However, harmful natural compounds can contaminate these products. In the case of algae-based products, the presence of toxin-producing cyanobacteria may cause health risks. However, data about the prevalence of algal food supplements on the Belgian market and possible contaminations with cyanotoxins are scarce. Therefore, we optimized and validated a method based on Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry to quantify eight microcystin congeners and nodularin in algal food supplements. Our analytical method was successfully validated and applied on 35 food supplement samples. Nine out of these samples contained microcystin congeners, of which three exceeded 1 µg g−1, a previously proposed guideline value. Additionally, the mcyE gene was amplified and sequenced in ten products to identify the taxon responsible for the toxin production. For seven out of these ten samples, the mcyE gene could be amplified and associated to Microcystis sp. EFSA and posology consumption data for algal-based food supplements were both combined with our toxin prevalence data to establish different toxin exposure scenarios to assess health risks and propose new guideline values.