Sensitive isotope dilution liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of acrylamide in chocolate

Carcinogenic and neurotoxic risks of acrylamide consumed through caffeinated beverages among the lebanese population

The present study aims to quantify acrylamide in caffeinated beverages including American coffee, Lebanese coffee, espresso, instant coffee and hot chocolate, and to determine their carcinogenic and neurotoxic risks. A survey was carried for this purpose whereby 78% of the Lebanese population was found to consume at least one type of caffeinated beverages. Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry analysis revealed that the average acrylamide level in caffeinated beverages is 29,176 μg/kg sample. The daily consumption of acrylamide from Lebanese coffee (10.9 μg/kg-bw/day), hot chocolate (1.2 μg/kg-bw/day) and Espresso (7.4 μg/kg-bw/day) was found to be higher than the risk intake for carcinogenicity and neurotoxicity as set by World Health Organization (WHO; 0.3-2 μg/kg-bw/day) at both the mean (average consumers) and high (high consumers) dietary exposures. On the other hand, American coffee (0.37 μg/kg-bw/day) was shown to pose no carcinogenic or neurotoxic risks among the Lebanese community for consumers with a mean dietary exposure. The study shows alarming results that call for regulating the caffeinated product industry by setting legislations and standard protocols for product preparation in order to limit the acrylamide content and protect consumers. In order to avoid carcinogenic and neurotoxic risks, we propose that WHO/FAO set acrylamide levels in caffeinated beverages to 7000 μg acrylamide/kg sample, a value which is 4-folds lower than the average acrylamide levels of 29,176 μg/kg sample found in caffeinated beverages sold in the Lebanese market. Alternatively, consumers of caffeinated products, especially Lebanese coffee and espresso, would have to lower their daily consumption to 0.3-0.4 cups/day.

Ultra trace level determinations of acrylamide in surface and drinking water by GC-MS after derivatization with xanthydrol

A sensitive GC-MS method has been established for the determination of acrylamide in surface and drinking water based on derivatization with xanthydrol. Deuterated acrylamide (acrylamide-d3 ) was chosen as the internal standard for analyzing the water sample. The derivatization of acrylamide was performed directly in water, and the best reaction conditions (xanthydrol of 1.6 mM, HCl concentration of 0.05 M, reaction for 30 min at ambient temperature) were established by variation of parameters. Under the established conditions, the detection and quantification limits were 3.0 and 9.7 ng/L, respectively, and the interday RSD was less than 8% at concentrations of 20 and 100 ng/L.

Study on mitigation of acrylamide formation in cookies by 5 antioxidants

This study investigated the capacity of various antioxidants in reducing the formation of acrylamide during cookie processing. Five antioxidants, antioxidants of bamboo leaves (AOB), sodium erythorbate (SE), tea polyphenols (TP), vitamin E (VE), and tert-butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ), were individually added into cookie formulas, and acrylamide content was determined by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Cookie quality indexes, including flavor, brittleness, and water activity, were also evaluated. Results showed that the maximum inhibitory rate of acrylamide by AOB was achieved with addition of 0.2 g/kg AOB. Addition of AOB (0.2 g/kg), TP (0.1 g/kg), VE (0.1 g/kg), SE (0.1 g/kg), and TBHQ (0.2 g/kg) mitigated the formation of acrylamide by 63.9%, 43.0%, 71.2%, 49.6%, and 54.1%, respectively. Sensory evaluation showed that the color, texture, and flavor of cookies processed with either AOB (0.2 g/kg) or VE (0.1 g/kg) had no significant difference compared to control cookies (P > 0.05). The present study indicated that AOB (0.2 g/kg) and VE (0.1 g/kg) could not only effectively mitigate the formation of acrylamide, but also retain acceptable sensory attributes of cookies. This work shows the potential effectiveness of antioxidants in food processing to decrease acrylamide formation.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

There is an urgent need for reducing the level of acrylamide produced during food processing. This study found that certain antioxidants (antioxidant of bamboo leaves and vitamin E) could effectively inhibit acrylamide formation in cookie processing without affecting sensory properties. The results suggested that the application of antioxidants could be an effective method to decrease acrylamide formation.

New trends in quantification of acrylamide in food products

Methods applied in acrylamide quantification in foods have been reviewed in this paper. Novel analytical techniques like capillary electrophoresis (CE), immunoenzymatic test (ELISA) and electrochemical biosensors, which can replace traditional methods like high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography (GC) were presented. Short time of analysis and high resolution power of electrophoretic techniques caused that they became routinely used in food analysis apart from high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. Application of modern chromatography methods like ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) in acrylamide quantification considerably shortened the time of analysis and decreased the consumption of indispensable reagents. The most promising approaches to acrylamide quantification in foods are electrochemical biosensors and immunoenzymatic tests. In contrast to chromatography and electrophoretic methods they require neither expensive equipment nor time consuming sample preparation and allow for fast screening of numerous samples without the usage of sophisticated apparatuses. Because of many advantages such as miniaturization, rapid and simple analysis, and high sensitivity and selectivity, biosensors are thought to replace conventional methods of acrylamide quantification in food.

Application of the standard addition method for the determination of acrylamide in heat-processed starchy foods by gas chromatography with electron capture detector

A gas chromatography electron capture detector (GC-ECD) using the standard addition method was developed for the determination of acrylamide in heat-processed foods. The method entails extraction of acrylamide with water, filtration, defatting with n-hexane, derivatization with hydrobromic acid and saturated bromine-water, and liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. The sample pretreatment required no SPE clean-up and concentration steps prior to injection. The final extract was analyzed by GC-ECD. The chromatographic analysis was performed on polar columns, e.g. Supelcowax-10 capillary column, and good retention and peak response of the analyte were achieved under the optimal conditions. The qualification of the analyte was by identifying the peak with same retention time as standard compound 2,3-DBPA and confirmed by GC-MS. GC-MS analysis confirmed that 2,3-DBPA was converted to 2-BPA nearly completely on the polar capillary column, whether or not treated with triethylamine. A four-point standard addition protocol was used to quantify acrylamide in food samples. The limit of detection (LOD) was estimated to be 0.6μg/kg on the basis of ECD technique. Validation and quantification results demonstrated that the method should be regarded as a low-cost, convenient, and reliable alternative for conventional investigation of acrylamide.

Determination of acrylamide in coffee and chocolate by pressurised fluid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A selective and sensitive procedure has been developed and validated for the determination of acrylamide in difficult matrices, such as coffee and chocolate. The proposed method includes pressurised fluid extraction (PFE) with acetonitrile, florisil clean-up purification inside the PFE extraction cell and detection by liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to atmospheric pressure ionisation in positive mode tandem mass spectrometry (APCI-MS-MS). Comparison of ionisation sources (atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI), atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI) and the combined APCI/APPI) and clean-up procedures were carried out to improve the analytical signal. The main parameters affecting the performance of the different ionisation sources were previously optimised using statistical design of experiments (DOE). PFE parameters were also optimised by DOE. For quantitation, an isotope dilution approach was used. The limit of quantification (LOQ) of the method was 1 microg kg(-1) for coffee and 0.6 microg kg(-1) for chocolate. Recoveries ranged between 81-105% in coffee and 87-102% in chocolate. The accuracy was evaluated using a coffee reference test material FAPAS T3008. Using the optimised method, 20 coffee and 15 chocolate samples collected from Valencian (Spain) supermarkets, were investigated for acrylamide, yielding median levels of 146 microg kg(-1) in coffee and 102 microg kg(-1) in chocolate.

Addition of antioxidant from bamboo leaves as an effective way to reduce the formation of acrylamide in fried chicken wings

The efficiency of antioxidant from bamboo leaves on the reduction of acrylamide during thermal processing and optimization of levels of addition of antioxidant from bamboo leaves applied to fried chicken wings are reported. The authors optimized the method of the addition of antioxidant from bamboo leaves to fried chicken wings and the frying processing parameters, and also compared the relationship between the content of total flavonoids in three extracts (EBL(971), EBL(972) and antioxidant from bamboo leaves) and the extent of the reduction of acrylamide. The acrylamide levels were quantified by a validated liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry detection method and the sensory evaluation was performed in a double-blind manner. The results showed that nearly 57.8 and 59.0% of acrylamide in fried chicken wings were reduced when the antioxidant from bamboo leaves addition ratios were 0.1 and 0.5% (w/w), respectively. The maximum inhibitory rate was achieved when antioxidant from bamboo leaves was chosen as the additive with a total flavonoid content of 32% compared with other two extracts and antioxidant from bamboo leaves mixed with flour was selected as the method of addition. Sensory evaluation results showed that the odour and flavour of fried chicken wings with antioxidant from bamboo leaves treatments had no significant difference compared with normal food matrixes (p > 0.05) when the antioxidant from bamboo leaves addition ratio was <0.5% (w/w). Colour acceptability in the study of sensory evaluation was in good correspondence with colour formation of fried chicken wings in each test group. These results suggest that antioxidant from bamboo leaves could significantly reduce acrylamide formation in fried chicken wings and yet still retain the original flavour and odour of the fried products. This study could be regarded as a pioneer contribution to the reduction of acrylamide in various foods by natural antioxidants.