Determination of patulin residues in apple by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LCMS-ESI-MS/MS) for consumer risk assessment / Nur Aliya Hamdi

Patulin (PAT) is a mycotoxin produced by certain fungal species of Penicillium growing on fruit, including apples with brown rot. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of PAT in the apple imported in Malaysia and to determine the daily intake of this toxicant from apple consumption. This research describes a simple and rapid method for determination of PAT based on a single extraction step followed LC-ESI-MS/MS. This method is an improvement over existing methods that require additional purification steps. The method was applied to 100 apple samples and demonstrated high levels of contamination in about one in five samples. The incidence of PAT contamination was 53% positive out of 100 samples with the mean value of 11.35ng/g. The levels of contamination determined in the total samples ranged from 3.57 to 34.69ng/g. PAT were detected in apple samples imported to Malaysia, however, further monitoring for PAT level in apple juice concentrates is necessary to control and protect the health risk from this mycotoxin.