LC/MS/MS Analysis of Aflatoxins in Hops After Solid Phase Extraction Cleanup

Introduction

Hops are widely used in brewing beer. Hops have unique composition containing bitter compounds in the form of α- and β-acids, essential oils, polyphenols and aroma compounds such as terpenes.¹ Fungal contamination of the hops can result in the production of mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are a diverse group of compounds comprised of hundreds of secondary metabolic products from various fungal species. Mycotoxins are widely prevalent in many agricultural commodities and can form during growth, harvest, transportation, processing, or storage. Several mycotoxins show marked toxicity in humans. Aflatoxin B1, for example, is considered to be a Type 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).² The sensitive and accurate detection of very low levels of aflatoxins is critical to identify contaminated products.