1 research outputs found
Determination of 2‑Methylimidazole, 4‑Methylimidazole, and 2‑Acetyl-4-(1,2,3,4-tetraÂhydroxyÂbutyl)Âimidazole in Licorice Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Stable-Isotope Dilution Analysis
A quick and selective analytical
method was developed for the simultaneous
quantitation of 2-methylimidazole, 4-methylimidazole, and 2-acetyl-4-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxybutyl)Âimidazole,
which are known to be formed by Maillard reactions. The methodology
reported here employs stable-isotope dilution analysis (SIDA) using
4-methylimidazole-<i>d</i><sub>6</sub> and [<sup>13</sup>C<sub>6</sub>]-2-acetyl-4-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxybutyl)Âimidazole as
internal standards. It was successfully applied in a model assay to
show that the addition of ammonium chloride during the manufacture
of licorice promotes imidazole formation depending on the added amount
of ammonium chloride without the well-known impact of present caramel
food colorings. Furthermore, a monitoring assay of 29 caramel coloring-free
licorice products showed that both 4-methylimidazole and 2-acetyl-4-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydroxybutyl)Âimidazole
are endogenously generated in detectable quantities. None of the samples
showed 2-methylimidazole levels above the limit of detection, 50 μg/kg