Monitoring of Aflatoxins B₁, G₁, B₂, and G₂ in Spices from Riyadh Markets by Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Tandem...

A total of 1053 samples of spices were collected from Riyadh markets during 2022. The contamination with aflatoxins (AF) B₁ (AFB₁), B₂ (AFB₂), G₁ (AFG₁), and G₂ (AFG₂) was determined via liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry. AF extraction from spices was performed using an acetonitrile-formic acid mixture. The results obtained show that the highest value for AFB1 (3.865 μg/kg) was detected in the bay leaf sample, while the highest value for AFB₂ (3.461 μg/kg) was found in red chili powder. The values of AFG₁ and AFG₂ did not exceed 2.59 μg/kg. The AF analysis shows that 24 out of 1053 samples (2.3%) contained one or more of these AFs. The highest percentage of contaminated samples was detected in black pepper. AFB₁ was found in 21 samples of six types of spices, while AFG₂ was detected in eight samples of four types of spices. Also, none of the samples exceeded the Saudi Food and Drug Authority and EU limits of 10 μg/kg. The present research is not a comprehensive study; however, it provides valuable information on AFB₁, AFB₂, AFG₁, and AFG₂ levels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia spices.