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

Background: 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).

Objective: 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.

Method: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusions: 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.

Highlights: 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.