A new solid-phase extraction and HPLC method for determination of patulin in apple products and hawthorm juice in China

A new solid-phase extraction (SPE) pretreatment method using a home-made polyvinylpolypyrrolidone-florisil (PVPP-F) column was developed for the analysis of patulin in apple and hawthorn products in China. Fifty samples (25 apple juices, 12 apple jams, and 13 hawthorn juices) were prepared using the new method and then analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) on an Agela Venusil MP C(18) reversed-phase column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 ?m). The cleanup results for all samples using home-made PVPP-F column were compared with those obtained using a MycoSep®228 AflaPat column. The correlation coefficient R (0.9998) fulfilled the requirement of linearity for patulin in the concentration range of 2.5-250 ?g/kg. The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) of patulin were 3.99 and 9.64 ?g/kg for PVPP-F column, and 3.56 and 8.07 ?g/kg for MycoSep®228 AflaPat column, respectively. Samples were spiked with patulin at levels ranging from 25 to 250 ?g/kg, and recoveries using PVPP-F and MycoSep®228 AflaPat columns were in the range of 81.9-100.9% and 86.4-103.9%, respectively. Naturally occurring patulin was found in 2 of 25 apple juice samples (8.0%) and 1 of 13 hawthorn juice samples (7.7%) at concentrations ranging from 12.26 to 36.81 ?g/kg. The positive results were further confirmed by liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS).