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Simultaneous Determination of Seven α-Dicarbonyl Compounds in Milk and Milk Products Based on an LC–MS/MS Method with Matrix-Matched Calibration

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Abstract

α-Dicarbonyl compounds (α-DCs) are highly reactive intermediates mainly formed in Maillard and caramelizing reactions and reported as unhealthy compounds to the human body. In this study, the LC–MS/MS method was developed and validated to simultaneously determine seven α-DCs, including glucosone, 3-deoxyglucosone, 3-deoxygalactosone, glyoxal, 3,4-dideoxyglucosone-3-ene, methylglyoxal, and 2,3-butanedione in milk and dairy products. Matrix factor (out of 85–115%) and the RSD of slops of matrix-matched calibration curves (> 4%) were evaluated to demonstrate the existence of absolute and relative matrix effects. After the matrix-matched calibration curve was used to quantify seven α-DCs with LC–MS/MS analysis, the recoveries were changed from 75.01–103.22% to 82.9–109.24%. All matrix-matched calibration curves of solid, semi-solid, and liquid milk products had good linearity in the range of 5–500 μg/L (or μg/kg), and the correlation coefficients were above 0.99. Intra- and inter-day precisions were 0.61–9.02% and 0.52–11.00%, respectively. This method was successfully applied for detecting the levels of seven α-DCs in 37 milk products purchased from local supermarkets. The results indicated that the content of α-DCs in flavored fermented milk and infant milk powder with relatively more sugar was significantly higher than in other milk and milk products. The higher level of α-DCs reminded us to explore the innovative technology to reduce the production of α-DCs to improve the quality and safety of the milk products.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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Funding

This work was granted and funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (Project No. 2018YFC1604203).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Food Science and Health, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China

    Jinhui Zhang, Fan Wei, Tianchang Zhang, Bo Peng, Yan Zhang & Shuo Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Ministry of Education of China, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457, China

    Meimei Cui

Authors
  1. Jinhui Zhang
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  2. Fan Wei
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  3. Tianchang Zhang
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  4. Meimei Cui
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  5. Bo Peng
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  6. Yan Zhang
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  7. Shuo Wang
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Correspondence to Yan Zhang or Shuo Wang.

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Jinhui Zhang declares that she has no conflict of interest. Fan Wei declares that she has no conflict of interest. Tianchang Zhang declares that she has no conflict of interest. Meimei Cui declares that she has no conflict of interest. Bo Peng declares that he has no conflict of interest. Yan Zhang declares that she has no conflict of interest. Shuo Wang declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Zhang, J., Wei, F., Zhang, T. et al. Simultaneous Determination of Seven α-Dicarbonyl Compounds in Milk and Milk Products Based on an LC–MS/MS Method with Matrix-Matched Calibration. Food Anal. Methods 15, 1652–1662 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-021-02219-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12161-021-02219-6

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