Determination of Patulin in Apple using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS

Patulin (PAT) is a mycotoxin produced by certain fungal species of Penicillium and Aspergillus growing on fruits. The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of PAT concentration in apple imported in Malaysia using High Performance Liquid Chromatography Electrospary Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS). Determination of PTA was performed on reverse phase Phenomenex C18 column with 1.7 μm particle size and the ESI negative ion mode was most effective for ionization of PAT. Percent recoveries were between 89.5 –91.5 % and limit detection (LOD) and limit quantification (LOQ) of the method were 1 and 4 ng/g, respectively. The method applied to 100 apple samples and the PAT was found 53% positive out of 100 samples in concentration ranged from 3.57 to 34.69 ng/g. The results showed that samples were contaminated with levels lower than the EC regulatory limit for PAT. Thus, further monitoring of PAT level in fruits is necessary to control and protect the health risk from mycotoxin.