First report on the presence of Alloxan in bleached flour by LC-MS/MS method

In this work the presence of Alloxan in bread, pastry and cake bleached flour was investigate in order to verify possible risk for consumers related to the use of chemicals for flour bleaching. A selective UHPLC–MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the purpose. Alloxan is one of the pos...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cereal science 2017-09, Vol.77, p.120-125
Main Authors: Giaccone, Vita, Cammilleri, Gaetano, Di Stefano, Vita, Pitonzo, Rosa, Vella, Antonio, Pulvirenti, Andrea, Lo Dico, Gianluigi Maria, Ferrantelli, Vincenzo, Macaluso, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alloxan
Bakery products
Flour
LC–ESI-MS/MS
Validation procedure
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Summary:In this work the presence of Alloxan in bread, pastry and cake bleached flour was investigate in order to verify possible risk for consumers related to the use of chemicals for flour bleaching. A selective UHPLC–MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the purpose. Alloxan is one of the possible minor side products of oxidation after chemical bleaching of wheat flours, when several chemical agents are used. One hundred and seventy-five flour samples were analyzed for Alloxan determination. The validation of the method was performed in accordance with the ISO/IEC/EN 17025 for linearity, detection limit, quantification limit, accuracy, precision and ruggedness determination. Satisfactory performances were obtained for the analyte, with a Limit of Detection (LOD) of 0.73 mg kg−1, a Limit of Quantification (LOQ) of 0.85 mg kg−1 and recovery values between 94% and 102%. The present work report for the first time the presence of trace levels of Alloxan in 24% of the analyzed samples, with mean values of 0,95 ± 0,04 mg kg−1. The presence of Alloxan was detected only in cake flour samples. Further studies on toxicological levels of Alloxan are needed in order to evaluate possible risks for consumers linked to the consumption of bakery products. •In this work the presence of Alloxan in bleached flour was reported for the first time.•A reliable UHPLC–MS/MS method was carried out according to EN/ISO 17025.•Alloxan trace levels were found in 24% of the cake flour analyzed samples.•Bleached flour may contain Alloxan as a minor product of a series of oxidation reactions.
ISSN:0733-5210
1095-9963
DOI:10.1016/j.jcs.2017.06.015