Development and Validation of Benzophenone Derivatives in Packaged Cereal-Based Foods by Solid-Liquid Extraction and Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry

We established and validated a sensitive multi-residue analytical method for identifying benzophenone (BP) and nine BP derivatives (2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone [BP-1], 2,2',4,4'-tetrahydroxydroxybenzophenone, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy benzophenone, 2,2'-dihydroxy 4-methoxy benzophenone, 2-hydroxybenzophenone [2-OHBP], 4-hydroxybenzophenone, 4-methylbenzophenone [4-MBP], methyl-2-benzoylbenzoate, and 4-benzoylbiphenyl). Solid-liquid extraction pretreatment and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) were employed in an analysis of 85 packaged cereal-based food samples (25 pastry, 50 rice, and 10 noodle samples). The method had satisfactory linearity (R-2 >= 0.995), low limits of detection (pastry: 0.02-4.2 ng/g; rice and noodle: 0.02-2 ng/g), and favorable precision, with within-run and between-run coefficient of variation ranges of 1-29% and 1-28%, respectively. BP and 4-MBP were detected in 100% of the pastry samples, and BP-1 and 2-OHBP were found in 76% and 56% of the pastry samples, respectively. BP and 2-OHBP were found in 92% and 38% of the rice samples, respectively. BP was found in 50% of the noodle samples. BP contributed the most to the total level of BPs in pastries, with significantly higher mean +/- standard deviation (range) levels for pastries (26.8 +/- 32.6 [1.8-115.4] ng/g) than rice (1.2 +/- 2.0 [0.4-13.4] ng/g) and noodles (0.7 +/- 0.7 [0.4-1.9] ng/g); p < 0.0001). The trace levels of 4-MBP identified in the samples demonstrate the need for the development of analytical methods with high sensitivity and specificity; the proposed method satisfies this need.

Automated summary

We developed and validated a sensitive multi-residue analytical method for detecting benzophenone and its derivatives in cereal-based food samples. The method revealed that pastries had the highest levels of benzophenone, followed by rice and noodles. The presence of benzophenone and its derivatives were detected in all samples.