Reliable and Cost-Effective QuEChERS-UHPLC-MS/MS Method for the Simultaneous Analysis of Ten Mycotoxins in Dendrobium Officinale: A Study on Food-Medicine Homology Quality Control.

Abstract

This study developed a method for simultaneously detecting 10 mycotoxins in Dendrobium officinale using the QuEChERS technique combined with ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The method was optimized for sample purification, pretreatment, chromatographic conditions, and mass spectrometric settings. It effectively addressed the matrix effects from impurities like pigments and cellulose. The validation of the method showed good linearity (R ² > 0.990), with limits of detection (LODs) ranging from 0.23 to 8.61 μg kg^-1 and limits of quantification (LOQs) from 0.77 to 28.7 μg kg^-1. Average recoveries for the 10 mycotoxins ranged from 77.9% to 98.5%, with relative standard deviations (RSD) between 2.26% and 8.28%. The method demonstrated high accuracy, precision, and suitability for large-scale screening of mycotoxins in Dendrobium officinale. When applied to 84 samples, the contamination rate was 2.38%, with the main contaminants being AFB1, ZEN, and AFG1. This method provides a reliable, cost-effective approach for detecting mycotoxin contamination in traditional Chinese medicine.