Simultaneous determination of seventeen mycotoxins residues in Puerariae lobatae radix by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

• A LC–MS/MS method for determination of seventeen mycotoxins was developed.
• Four different clean-up approaches were investigated and compared.
• The method was used to determine mycotoxins residues in Puerariae lobatae radix.
• Three batches of TCM were found with contamination of AFB1 or T-2 mycotoxins.

This work reported an efficient and accurate liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) method for simultaneous determination of seventeen mycotoxins in Puerariae lobatae radix, a frequently used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The effects of four different clean-up methods, including TC-M160, TC-T220, Mycosep 227, and QuEChERS method, on the recoveries of mycotoxins were investigated and compared. Finally, TC-M160 was chosen for better recovery and repeatability for mycotoxins analysis. The analytes were separated on an Agilent ZORBAX SB C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm particle size), and eluted with a mobile phase consisting of (A) water containing 0.1% formic acid and (B) acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min. The separated compounds were detected by a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in positive electrospray ionization with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The results of method validation accorded with the requirement of analytical method for mycotoxins in COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 401/2006. The developed method was successfully applied for determination of mycotoxins in seventeen batches of Puerariae lobatae radix collected from different provinces of China. Three batches of them were found with contamination of mycotoxins AFB1 at (0.751 ± 0.176) μg/kg, T-2 at (1.10 ± 0.01) μg/kg, and T-2 at (0.853 ± 0.044) μg/kg, respectively. The results demonstrated that the proposed method was suitable for monitoring mycotoxins residues in Puerariae lobatae radix.

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