Development of a LC-MS/MS Method for the Determination of Lauric Arginate Ethyl Ester (E243) in Food

Lauric arginate ethyl ester (LAE) is a natural cationic surfactant exhibiting excellent antimicrobial activity and has been approved as a safe additive in certain food according to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA).

This study aimed to develop an analytical method based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the analysis of LAE in food using isotope-labeled LAE as internal standard.

LAE in food was extracted by a mixture of acetonitrile (ACN)-water (9:1) and analyzed by LC-MS/MS via an internal standard calibration method using LAE-d23 hydrochloride as the internal standard.

The limit of detection values of LAE were 0.32 mg/kg in liquid samples and 1.0 mg/kg in solid samples. The limit of quantitation values were 4.4 mg/kg and 14 mg/kg in liquid and solid samples, respectively. Spike recoveries consistently fell within the range of 90 to 110% at three different fortification levels, accompanied by a RSD below 10% in each instance.

An analytical method with LC-MS/MS detection for the analysis of LAE in various food matrixes was successfully developed, validated, and demonstrated to be fast, robust, and reliable.

The developed analytical method with LC-MS/MS detection offered a fast and efficient way to analyze LAE in various food samples during a routine food surveillance program.