Development of a green protocol for the authenticity of Datterino tomato purees by HR-MS

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and tomato products are considered to be healthy food since they are low in fat and calories, free of cholesterol and rich in vitamins A and C, β- carotene, lycopene and potassium [1]. Moreover, the tomato and its products are an important source of antioxidants and bioactive compounds [2]. For this reason, the tomato is a key component in the so-called “Mediterranean diet” and its consumption, as a fresh and processed food, has greatly increased worldwide over the past two decades. There are many tomato cultivars with a wide range of sensorial and morphological characteristics which determine their use. A recent trend of the tomato processing industry is devoted to valorize local production of fresh tomatoes in terms of variety and/or geographical origins launching on the market new product lines based on monovarietal raw materials (e.g. Datterino, San marzano etc.). These products have a higher market value and studies on their authenticity are desirable. Over the last decade, several analytical approaches have been proposed to investigate the different tomato varieties but only few of them pursued authenticity/traceability purposes [3]. This is the context of this study, which aimed to develop and optimize a rapid and green analytical method for Datterino purees authentication by flow injection analysis based on high resolution mass spectrometry detection (FIA-HRMS). For this purpose, a set of 41 puree samples was collected and equally distributed into two groups: (i) labelled as 100% Datterino, (ii) purees with no varietal specifications. AGREE and AGREEprep were the software used to drive us towards a green protocol. Indeed, AGREE and AGREEprep allow us to evaluate, through a G-score, the degree of greenness of the analytical method and the preparation of the analytical sample respectively. They were based on 10/12 impact categories, recalculated into sub-scores on a scale from 0 to 1. With the help of these tools, a rapid and green extraction protocol of the metabolites of the two groups of tomato purees was optimized by evaluating different parameters: extraction times, extraction solvent, amount of extracted sample, injection volume. All the mentioned parameters are strictly related not only to the sensitivity and specificity of the final detection, but also to the low environmental impact. The metabolite extracts were analyzed by FIA-HRMS acquisitions in Full scan modes in both polarity modes on a hybrid quadrupole/orbitrap MS (Q-Exactive Plus, Thermo Fisher Scientific). The total run time, including sample preparation and detection, was below 30 min. A promising untargeted analytical approach, green and rapid, for Datterino purees authentication by FIA-HRMS has been developed