Simultaneous Quantitative Assessment of Ochratoxin A, Patulin, 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural, and Bisphenol A in Fruit Drinks Using HPLC with Diode Array-Fluorimetric Detection

Assessing dietary bisphenol A exposure among Koreans: comprehensive database construction and analysis using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure primarily occurs through dietary intake. This study aimed to estimate the extent of dietary BPA exposure among Koreans. A thorough literature search was conducted to establish a BPA content database encompassing common foods consumed in Korea, including various food raw materials and processed food products. Dietary exposure levels were estimated by integrating the constructed BPA database with comprehensive nationwide 24 h-dietary recall datasets. The finding revealed that dietary BPA exposure was low for most Koreans, with a mean of 14.5 ng/kg bw/day, but was higher for preschool-age children (over 23 ng). Canned foods accounted for 9-36% of the total dietary exposure of the highest dietary exposure groups; while across all age groups, a considerable amount was derived from canned tuna, contribution of canned fruits and canned coffee (milk-containing) was high for preschool-age children and adults, respectively. Notably, for adults, a substantial proportion also stemmed from beer packaged in cans. While diet contributed over 80% of aggregate exposure for most age groups, preschool-age children experienced 60% exposure through diet due to additional exposure from indoor dust. Even at the high exposure scenario, aggregate BPA exposure levels remained lower than the current tolerable daily intake (TDI) set by the Korean agency (20 μg/kg bw/day). Nevertheless, most Koreans were exposed to BPA levels surpassing the strictest TDI (0.2 ng/kg bw/day) set by the European Food Safety Authority.

The antisickling agent, 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural: Other potential pharmacological applications

For the last two decades, the aromatic aldehyde 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural (5-HMF) has been the subject of several investigations for its pharmacologic potential. In 2004, the Safo group reported that 5-HMF has potent antisickling activity by targeting and ameliorating the primary pathophysiology of hypoxia-induced sickling of erythrocytes (red blood cells [RBC]). Following the encouraging outcome of the preclinical and phase I/II clinical studies of 5-HMF for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD), there have been multiple studies suggesting 5-HMF has several other biological or pharmacologic activities, including anti-allergic, antioxidant, anti-hypoxic, anti-ischemic, cognitive improvement, anti-tyrosinase, anti-proliferation, cytoprotective, and anti-inflammatory activities. The wide range of its effects makes 5-HMF a potential candidate for treating a variety of diseases including cognitive disorders, gout, allergic disorders, anemia, hypoxia, cancers, ischemia, hemorrhagic shock, liver fibrosis, and oxidative injury. Several of these therapeutic claims are currently under investigation and, while promising, vary in terms of the strength of their evidence. This review presents the research regarding the therapeutic potential of 5-HMF in addition to its sources, physicochemical properties, safety, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) profiles.

One-step growth of Cu-doped carbon dots in amino-modified carbon nanotube-modified electrodes for sensitive electrochemical detection of BPA

Copper-doped carbon dots and aminated carbon nanotubes (Cu-CDs/NH2-CNTs) nanocomposites were synthesized by a one-step growth method, and the composites were characterized for their performance. An electrochemical sensor for sensitive detection of bisphenol A (BPA) was developed for using Cu-CDs/NH2-CNTs nanocomposites modified with glassy carbon electrodes (GCE). The sensor exhibited an excellent electrochemical response to BPA in 0.2 M PBS (pH 7.0) under optimally selected conditions. The linear range of the sensor for BPA detection was 0.5-160 μM, and the detection limit (S/N = 3) was 0.13 μM. Moreover, the sensor has good interference immunity, stability and reproducibility. In addition, the feasibility of the practical application of the sensor was demonstrated by the detection of BPA in bottled drinking water and Liu Yang River water.

Determination and analysis of patulin in apples, hawthorns, and their products by high-performance liquid chromatography

This study aimed to establish a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to investigate the residues of patulin in apples, hawthorns, and their products. A total of 400 samples were collected from online shopping plats and supermarkets in China, including apples (n = 50), hawthorns (n = 50), and their products (apple juice, apple puree, apple jam, hawthorn juice, hawthorn chips, and hawthorn rolls, n = 300). In this experiment, this method had good linearity and a recovery of 82.3-94.4% for patulin. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.2 µg/kg for liquid samples, while it was 0.3 µg/kg for solid and semi-fluid samples. The frequencies of patulin were 79.8% in 400 samples, and the patulin concentration is from 0.6 to 126.0 µg/kg. Two samples (0.5%) for patulin exceeded the regulatory limit (50 µg/kg) in 400 samples. The frequencies of patulin in kinds of samples were 32.0-98.0% (p < 0.05), and the percentage of samples exceeding the limit was not more than 2.0%. The frequencies of patulin in domestic samples were 83.0%, while they were 57.7% in imported samples. Two domestic samples (0.6%) contained patulin above the regulatory limit, while none of the imported samples exceeded the limit. Among the online and offline samples, the frequencies of patulin were 76.4 and 82.1%. Two online samples (1.0%) for patulin exceeded the regulatory limit, whereas none of the offline samples exceeded the limit. These results showed it is important to monitor regularly the content of patulin in apples, hawthorns, and their products to ensure consumer food safety.

Patulin-imprinted origami 3D-ePAD based on graphene screen-printed electrode modified with Mn-ZnS quantum dot coated with a molecularly imprinted polymer

We developed a novel, compact, three-dimensional electrochemical paper-based analytical device (3D-ePAD) for patulin (PT) determination. The selective and sensitive PT-imprinted Origami 3D-ePAD was constructed based on a graphene screen-printed electrode modified with manganese-zinc sulfide quantum dots coated with patulin imprinted polymer (Mn-ZnS QDs@PT-MIP/GSPE). The Mn-ZnS QDs@PT-MIP was synthesized using 2-oxindole as the template, methacrylic acid (MAA) as a monomer, N,N'-(1,2-dihydroxyethylene) bis (acrylamide) (DHEBA) as cross-linker and 2,2'-azobis (2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) as initiator, respectively. The Origami 3D-ePAD was designed with hydrophobic barrier layers formed on filter paper to provide three-dimensional circular reservoirs and assembled electrodes. The synthesized Mn-ZnS QDs@PT-MIP was quickly loaded on the electrode surface by mixing with graphene ink and then screen-printing on the paper. The PT-imprinted sensor provides the greatest enhancement in redox response and electrocatalytic activity, which we attributed to synergetic effects. This arose from an excellent electrocatalytic activity and good electrical conductivity of Mn-ZnS QDs@PT-MIP, which improved electron transfer between PT and the electrode surface. Under the optimized DPV conditions, a well-defined PT oxidation peak appears at +0.15 V (vs Ag/AgCl) using 0.1 M of phosphate buffer (pH 6.5) containing 5 mM K₃Fe(CN)₆ as the supporting electrolyte. Our developed PT imprinted Origami 3D-ePAD revealed excellent linear dynamic ranges of 0.001-25 μM, with a detection limit of 0.2 nM. Detection performance indicated that our Origami 3D-ePAD possesses outstanding detection performance from fruits and CRM in terms of high accuracy (%Error for inter-day is 1.11%) and precision (%RSD less than 4.1%). Therefore, the proposed method is well-suited as an alternative platform for ready-to-use sensors in food safety. The imprinted Origami 3D-ePAD is an excellent disposable device with a simple, cost-effective, and fast analysis, and it is ready to use for determining patulin in actual samples.

A facile "turn-on" fluorescent aptasensor for simultaneous detection of dual mycotoxins in traditional Chinese medicine based on graphene oxide and FRET

Mycotoxin is a common sort of harmful contaminant in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is in a great demand of controlling. On this account, a facile "turn-on" fluorescent aptasensor based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) for simultaneous detection of patulin (PAT) and zearalenone (ZEN) was developed. In this study, the aptamers of PAT and ZEN were labeled by FAM and Cy3, respectively, serving as fluorescence probes. Both aptamers could adsorb on the surface of graphene oxide (GO) via π-π stacking, which will consequently result in the occurrence of FRET between the fluorophores and GO. In the absence of the targets, the fluorescence would be quenched "off". In the presence of any of the dual mycotoxins, the corresponding aptamers would interact with the targets and release from GO due to the conformational variation, leading to a fluorescence "turn-on" effect. The limit of detection of this difunctional aptasensor was 2.29 nM for PAT and 0.037 nM for ZEN, respectively. This aptasensing platform exhibited satisfactory selectivity against interferents and reliability in real TCM sample detection. To our knowledge, it is the first aptasensor based on GO and FRET that realizes simultaneous detection of dual mycotoxin in TCM. Moreover, the measurement takes merely ∼60 min, does not need complicated pretreatment, and uses only inexpensive aptamer and GO as consuming materials. To sum up, this aptasensor exhibits great potential in fast, cost-effective and reliable simultaneous detection of multiple targets, and is expected to contribute to the quality and safety control of TCM.

Detection, Contamination, Toxicity, and Prevention Methods of Ochratoxins: An Update Review

Ochratoxins (OTs) with nephrotoxic, immunosuppressive, teratogenic, and carcinogenic properties are thermostable fungal subordinate metabolites. OTs contamination can occur before or after harvesting, during the processing, packing, distribution, and storage of food. Mold development and mycotoxin contamination can occur in any crop or cereal that has not been stored properly for long periods of time and is subjected to high levels of humidity and temperature. Ochratoxin A (OTA) presents a significant health threat to creatures and individuals. There is also a concern of how human interaction with OTA will also express the remains of OTA from feedstuffs into animal-derived items. Numerous approaches have been studied for the reduction of the OTA content in agronomic products. These methods can be classified into two major classes: inhibition of OTA adulteration and decontamination or detoxification of food. A description of the various mycotoxins, the organism responsible for the development of mycotoxins, and their adverse effects are given. In the current paper, the incidence of OTA in various fodder and food materials is discussed, which is accompanied by a brief overview of the OTA mode of synthesis, physicochemical properties, toxic effects of various types of ochratoxins, and OTA decontamination adaptation methods. To our knowledge, we are the first to report on the structure of many naturally accessible OTAs and OTA metabolism. Finally, this paper seeks to be insightful and draw attention to dangerous OTA, which is too frequently neglected and overlooked in farm duplication from the list of discrepancy studies.

Current Strategies for Studying the Natural and Synthetic Bioactive Compounds in Food by Chromatographic Separation Techniques

The present study summarizes the new strategies including advanced equipment and validation parameters of liquid and gas chromatography methods i.e., thin-layer chromatography (TLC), column liquid chromatography (CLC), and gas chromatography (GC) suitable for the identification and quantitative determination of different natural and synthetic bioactive compounds present in food and food products, which play an important role in human health, within the period of 2019–2021 (January). Full characteristic of some of these procedures with their validation parameters is discussed in this work. The present review confirms the vital role of HPLC methodology in combination with different detection modes i.e., HPLC-UV, HPLC-DAD, HPLC-MS, and HPLC-MS/MS for the determination of natural and synthetic bioactive molecules for different purposes i.e., to characterize the chemical composition of food as well as in the multi-residue analysis of pesticides, NSAIDs, antibiotics, steroids, and others in food and food products.

Bisphenol A and Metabolites in Meat and Meat Products: Occurrence, Toxicity, and Recent Development in Analytical Methods

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a commonly used compound in many industries and has versatile applications in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins production. BPA is classified as endocrine-disrupting chemical which can hamper fetal development during pregnancy and may have long term negative health outcomes in humans. Dietary sources, main route of BPA exposure, can be contaminated by the migration of BPA into food during processing. The global regulatory framework for using this compound in food contact materials is currently not harmonized. This review aims to outline, survey, and critically evaluate BPA contamination in meat products, including level of BPA and/or metabolites present, exposure route, and recent advancements in the analytical procedures of these compounds from meat and meat products. The contribution of meat and meat products to the total dietary exposure of BPA ranges between 10 and 50% depending on the country and exposure scenario considered. From can lining materials of meat products, BPA migrates towards the solid phase resulting higher BPA concentration in solid phase than the liquid phase of the same can. The analytical procedure is comprised of meat sample pre-treatment, followed by cleaning with solid phase extraction (SPE), and chromatographic analysis. Considering several potential sources of BPA in industrial and home culinary practices, BPA can also accumulate in non-canned or raw meat products. Very few scientific studies have been conducted to identify the amount in raw meat products. Similarly, analysis of metabolites and identification of the origin of BPA contamination in meat products is still a challenge to overcome.