Occurrence of multi-class mycotoxins in Menthae haplocalycis analyzed by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry

To determine the presence of multi-class mycotoxins in Menthae haplocalycis, a sample processing procedure based on a modified quick, easy, effective, rugged, and safe method, and a rapid and accurate testing method using ultra-fast performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, was developed and validated. We systematically evaluated the methodology for multi-mycotoxin analysis in the Menthae haplocalycis samples, and chose matrix-matched calibration curves as a reference to calculate the recoveries. Overall, the average recoveries varied between 67.1 and 103%, with relative standard deviations ranging from 0.34 to 10.3%. The optimized and validated method was applied to detect the presence of the target mycotoxins in 40 batches of Menthae haplocalycis samples. Results showed that the levels of mycotoxins varied among the samples. The most prevalent mycotoxin was tentoxin, followed by alternariol, alternariol monomethyl ether, zearalenone, fumonisin B₂ , fumonisin B₁ , ochratoxin A, aflatoxin B₁ , aflatoxin B₂ , aflatoxin G₁ , and T-2 toxin. The analytical method developed herein could be applied for the routine monitoring of multi-mycotoxins in Menthae haplocalycis.