A sensitive and reliable multi-mycotoxin method
was developed for the simultaneous determination of 16 toxicological
important mycotoxins, such as aflatoxins B1, B2,
G1, and G2; enniatins A, A1, B, and B1; beauvericin; ochratoxin
A; fumonisin B1, B2, andB3; diacetoxyscirprenol; HT-2;
and T-2 toxin in dried fruits using liquid chromatography
combined with electrospray ionization-triple quadrupole
tandem-mass spectrometry. Mycotoxins have been extracted
from the samples using a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective,
rugged, and safe procedure. The method was based on a
single extraction with acidified acetonitrile, followed by
partitioning with salts, avoiding any further clean-up step.
Limits of detections ranged from 0.08 to 15 μg kg−1 and limits
of quantification ranged from 0.2 to 45 μg kg−1, which were
below the legal limit set by the European Union for the
legislated mycotoxines. The recoveries in spiked samples
ranged from 60 to 135 % except for beauvericin using
matrix-matched calibration curves for quantification, with
good inter- and intraday repeatability (respective relative standard
deviation ≤20 and 9 %). The developed method was
applied to 15 commercial dried fruits: raisins, figs, apricots,
plums, and dates purchased in local markets from Spain.
Among the mycotoxins studied, enniantins and aflatoxins
were the most predominant mycotoxins