Lee Sang Mi, Cheong Daeun, Kim Meehye, Kim Young-Suk
Department of Food and Nutrition, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea.
Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea.
Foods. 2023 Jan 6;12(2):269. doi: 10.3390/foods12020269.
Nonylphenols (NPs) are classified as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which are known to cause disorders in the endocrine systems of organisms. Due to their high lipophilicity and low degradability, these harmful substances are known to accumulate and persist in the environment, and even enter into the food chain. Analytical methods of liquid-liquid extraction using solid-phase extraction for sample clean-up combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry were established to determine the presence of NPs in foods. This study aimed to develop and validate these methods using four food matrices representing high-fat and low-fat solid food, as well as high-fat and low-fat liquid food, groups. The single linear isomer 4-n-NP was used to validate the quantification of NPs, which exist in complex isomer mixtures. Our results showed good linearity, with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.998 for all four matrices. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.37-1.79 and 1.11-5.41 μg/kg, respectively. Recovery rates were 86.8-108.6% and 92.6-101.9% for intraday and interday assays, respectively, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were below 12% for both assays. The method was applied to analyze 1185 domestic food samples consumed by Koreans, with NPs detected at concentration ranges of 2.57-269.07 μg/kg. Results for each food type over wide concentration ranges indicated that these compounds are highly dependent on the area of cultivation, and are affected by the levels of those contaminants in different environments. The contents of NPs in foods from animal sources were generally higher than those from plant sources, in particular being higher in the intestines than in lean tissue. The present findings could form the basis for determining the level of dietary exposure to NPs and how each food source contributes to it in South Korea.
壬基酚（NPs）被归类为内分泌干扰化学物质（EDCs），已知会导致生物体内分泌系统紊乱。由于其高亲脂性和低降解性，这些有害物质会在环境中积累并持续存在，甚至进入食物链。建立了使用固相萃取进行样品净化的液液萃取结合气相色谱/质谱的分析方法，以测定食品中壬基酚的存在。本研究旨在使用代表高脂肪和低脂肪固体食品以及高脂肪和低脂肪液体食品组的四种食品基质开发并验证这些方法。使用单一线性异构体4-正壬基酚来验证壬基酚的定量，壬基酚以复杂的异构体混合物形式存在。我们的结果显示出良好的线性，所有四种基质的相关系数均超过0.998。检测限和定量限分别为0.37 - 1.79和1.11 - 5.41μg/kg。日内和日间测定的回收率分别为86.8 - 108.6%和92.6 - 101.9%，两种测定的相对标准偏差（RSD）均低于12%。该方法应用于分析1185份韩国人食用的国内食品样品，检测到的壬基酚浓度范围为2.57 - 269.07μg/kg。在很宽浓度范围内每种食品类型的结果表明，这些化合物高度依赖于种植区域，并受到不同环境中这些污染物水平的影响。动物源食品中壬基酚的含量通常高于植物源食品，特别是肠道中的含量高于瘦肉组织。本研究结果可为确定韩国人膳食中壬基酚的暴露水平以及每种食物来源对其的贡献奠定基础。
