[Quantification of Antioxidants in Farmed Salmon Using GC-APCI-MS/MS]

An analytical method based on GC-MS/MS was developed to quantify antioxidants, namely, butylhydroxyanisole (BHA), dibutylhydroxytoluene (BHT) and ethoxyquin (EQ), in farmed salmon.Antioxidants in farmed salmon were extracted with acetone-n-hexane (1 : 1, v/v) in the presence of sodium chloride. The antioxidants extracted were then purified using a combination of octadecyl silylated silica gel (C18), ethylene diamine-N-propyl silylated silica gel (PSA) and trimethyl aminopropyl silylated silica gel (SAX) cartridge columns. The sample solution was analysed by GC-MS/MS and quantified using the absolute calibration curve.At spiking levels corresponding to maximum residue limits, 0.1 mg/kg (BHT) and 0.01 mg/kg (BHA, EQ), the trueness of BHA (n=12) from pacific salmon ranged from 92.7-99.8%, repeatability ranged from 2.1-2.6% and intermediate precision varied from 2.4-4.1%, the trueness of BHT (n=12) from pacific salmon ranged from 91.0-92.9%, repeatability ranged from 1.9-6.2% and intermediate precision varied from 3.2-7.1%, the trueness of EQ (n=12) from pacific salmon ranged from 90.7-101.1%, repeatability ranged from 2.2-2.7% and intermediate precision varied from 2.2-3.1%. The limit of quantitation of the method was 0.1 mg/kg for BHT and 0.01 mg/kg for BHA and EQ.