Detection of acacia honey adulteration with high fructose corn syrup through determination of targeted α‑Dicarbonyl compound using ion mobility-mass spectrometry coupled with UHPLC-MS/MS.

High-value acacia honey is often adulterated with inexpensive high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), due to their similar color and sugar composition. α‑Dicarbonyl compounds formed by Maillard reaction or caramelization during heat treatment or storage, differ between HFCS and honey due to differences in starting materials and processing methods. In this study, we compared α-dicarbonyl compounds in acacia honey and HFCS by Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry and multivariate statistical analysis. Through α-dicarbonyl compound derivatization with o-phenylenediamine, we screened a marker with 189.1023 m/z and 139.3 Å Collision Cross-Section that can distinguish HFCS from acacia honey. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra identified this marker compound as 3,4-dideoxypentosulose. We then used chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry to quantitate 3,4-dideoxypentosulose in market samples of honey and HFCS and found that 3,4-dideoxypentosulose was negligible (<0.098 mg/kg) in honey, but prevalent in HFCS (≧1.174 mg/kg), indicating 3,4-dideoxypentosulose can serve as an alternative indicator of HFCS adulteration of acacia honey.