A simple and reliable analytical method for the simultaneous determination of alternariol (AOH), altenuene (ALT), tentoxin (TEN), altenusin (ALS), tenuazonic acid (TeA), and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) in grapes was developed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). A modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) procedure with the extraction by acetonitrile and purification by sodium chloride (0.5 g) and anhydrous magnesium sulfate (0.5 g) was established to recover the six Alternaria toxins. After validation by determining the linearity (R² > 0.99), recovery (77.8–101.6%), sensitivity (limit of detection in the range of 0.03–0.21 μg kg⁻¹, and limit of quantification in the range of 0.09–0.48 μg kg⁻¹), and precision (relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤ 12.9%), the analytical method was successfully applied to reveal the contamination state of Alternaria toxins in grapes. Among 56 grape samples, 40 (incidence of 71.4%) were contaminated with Alternaria toxins. TEN was the most frequently found mycotoxin (37.5%), with a concentration range of 0.10–1.64 μg kg⁻¹, followed by TeA (28.6%) and AOH (26.8%). ALT (10.7%), AME (3.6%), and ALS (5.4%) were also detected in some samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about the Alternaria toxins contamination in grapes in China.

A reliable and sensitive analytical method was developed for simultaneous determination of deoxynivalenol(DON), 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON), 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-ADON), fusarenon X (FUS-X), and masked deoxynivalenol (deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside, D3G) in formula feed, concentrated feed, and premixed feed products. The method was based on an improved sample pretreatment with the commercially available HLB cartridges used for sample purification and enrichment followed by analysis using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Several key parameters including the extraction solvents, the positions of sample loading solvents, washing and elution solvents for HLB cartridges were carefully optimized to achieve optimal extraction and purification efficiencies. The established method was extensively validated by determining the linearity (R² ≥ 0.99), sensitivity (limit of quantification in the range of 0.08–4.85 μg/kg), recovery (79.3%–108.1%), precision (Intra-day RSDs ≤ 13.5% and Inter-day RSDs ≤ 14.9%), and then was successfully applied to determine the four type B trichothecenes and D3G in a total of 31 feed samples. Among them, 26 were contaminated with various mycotoxins at the levels of 2.1–864.5 μg/kg, and D3G has also been detected in 17 samples with the concentrations in the range of 2.1–34.8 μg/kg, proving the established method to be a valuable tool for type B trichothecenes and masked DON monitoring in complex feed matrices.

A rapid and reliable liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for simultaneous determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) and its metabolite ochratoxin α (OTα), for the first time, in dairy cow plasma, milk, urine, heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney. The established method was extensively validated by determining the linearity (R² ≥ 0.990), sensitivity (lower limit of quantification, 0.1–0.2 ng mL⁻¹), recovery (75.3–114.1%), precision (RSD ≤ 13.6%), and stability (≥83.0%). Based on the methodological advances, the carry-over of OTA was subsequently studied after oral administration of 30 μg/kg body weight OTA to dairy cows. As revealed, OTA and OTα were detected in urine, with maximal concentrations of 1.8 ng mL⁻¹ and 324.6 ng mL⁻¹, respectively, but not in milk, plasma, or different tissues, verifying the protection effects of rumen flora against OTA exposure for dairy cows. Moreover, 100 fresh milk samples randomly collected from different supermarkets in Shanghai were also analyzed, and no positive samples were found, further proving the correctness of the in vivo biotransformation results. Thus, from the currently available data, regarding OTA contamination issues on dairy cows, no significant health risks were related to OTA exposure due to the consumption of these products.

Decabrominated diphenyl ether (BDE-209) is widely used as a flame retardant and is detected at high levels in the environment. Its toxicities have been reported and have attracted attention. In the present study, broilers were used to determine the response in growth performance, carcass traits, meat quality, blood profiles and antioxidant system to BDE-209 exposure at doses of 0, 0.02, 0.4 and 4 mg/kg. The results showed that BDE-209 exposure at levels of 0.02 or 0.4 mg/kg increased feed intake and decreased feed efficiency. BDE-209 altered the blood profiles, such as reducing the numbers of white blood cells, lymphocytes and neutrophilic granulocytes. As compared with the control, BDE-209 exposure significantly increased abdominal fat percentages of broilers at 64.9–159.5% and adversely affected the selected biochemical indicators, including alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatine (CRE), which indicated its toxicity to liver and kidney functions. Moreover, BDE-209 exposure significantly increased plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations and decreased the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), which implied aggravating oxidant stress and decline of antioxidant capacity in broilers. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that the environmental pollutant BDE-209 adversely influenced growth performance, increased the deposition of abdominal fat, impaired antioxidant capacity and the immune system and had potential toxicity to the liver and kidney of broilers.

A method for the simultaneous determination of 30 mycotoxins in different feed products was developed using a QuEChERS pretreatment procedure coupled with ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). The samples were extracted with 5 mL water and 5 mL acetonitrile containing 1% (v/v) formic acid. An aliquot of the supernatant was dried by nitrogen gas, re-dissolved by 1mL water containing 5 mmol/L ammonium acetate-acetonitrile (80:20, v/v), and analyzed by UHPLC-MS/MS. Matrix-matched calibration curves and internal standards were used for accurate quantification. Satisfactory recoveries at low, medium and high spiked levels were ranged from 72.0% to 118.4% (n=5). Good linear relationships were obtained, the correlation coefficients (r2) were greater than 0.99. The limits of detection (LODs, S/N=3) and the limits of quantification (LOQs, S/N=10) ranged from 0.7 μg/L to 20 μg/L and from 2 μg/L to 50 μg/L, respectively. The proposed method is simple, rapid and valuable, which can be a powerful tool for quantitative analysis of the 30 mycotoxins in premixed feed, concentrated feed and formula feed products.