Detecting ethanol and acetaldehyde by simple and ultrasensitive fluorimetric methods in compound foods

There is a need for simple, accurate, and rapid analysis of ethanol (Eth) and acetaldehyde (AA) in a wide variety of beverages and foods. A novel enzymatic assay coupled to formation of fluorescent chromophore is presented. Eth detection was further improved by adding semicarbazide to the reaction mixture, which interacts with AA and prevents its inhibitory effect on Eth oxidation. The limits of detection of Eth (0.5 mg/L) and AA (0.9 mg/L) are comparable with the performance of modern gas chromatography techniques. The repeatability of Eth and AA detection in various foods (9% on average) was lower than that with commercial kits (23%). The high sensitivity of the developed method enables detection of AA in common foods [e.g., bio-yogurt (12.2 mg/L), and the existence of endogenous Eth (1.8 mg/L) and AA (2.0 mg/L) in bacteria-free non-fermented bovine milk], which could not measured so far by enzymatic methods.