Cardini Julian, Sloth Jens J, Loeschner Katrin
Research Group for Analytical Food Chemistry, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, DK‑2800, Denmark.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2025 Jun 5. doi: 10.1007/s00216-025-05931-y.
The increasing trend towards more plant-based diets has underscored the need for a comprehensive understanding of the presence of potentially toxic elements in plant-based foods. Among these, cadmium is of particular concern due to its potential health risks. Our understanding of how cadmium is bound in plant-based foods and how this affects its bioavailability is currently limited. This paper introduces a qualitative methodology that combines SEC-ICP-MS/MS and SEC-QTOF-MS for identifying cadmium-chelating compounds and performing simultaneous speciation analysis of phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, iron, and zinc in plant-based foods. The present study details the optimization of the cadmium extraction process across seven different matrices with varying protein content. A large variation in the recoveries, ranging from 2.3 to 72.3%, was observed, suggesting strong cadmium binding to certain foods. The study employed two size exclusion columns (optimal ranges 0.1-7 kDa and 10-600 kDa), which were optimized for chromatographic peak resolution and analysis time to separate the extracted compounds. The study identified distinct cadmium-chelating patterns in plant-based foods, especially within the 1-20 kDa range. The multielement speciation data were used to detect proteins and other compounds, including phytic acid, phytochelatins, and metabolites, highlighting their chelating properties. The methodology established in this paper represents a significant step forward in cadmium speciation in plant-based foods and holds promise for future bioaccessibility studies.
越来越多的人倾向于食用更多的植物性饮食，这凸显了全面了解植物性食物中潜在有毒元素存在情况的必要性。其中，镉因其潜在的健康风险而备受关注。目前，我们对镉在植物性食物中的结合方式及其对生物可利用性的影响了解有限。本文介绍了一种定性方法，该方法结合了尺寸排阻色谱 - 电感耦合等离子体质谱/质谱联用仪（SEC - ICP - MS/MS）和尺寸排阻色谱 - 四极杆飞行时间质谱联用仪（SEC - QTOF - MS），用于识别植物性食物中的镉螯合化合物，并同时对磷、硫、钙、铁和锌进行形态分析。本研究详细阐述了在七种不同蛋白质含量的基质中镉提取过程的优化。观察到回收率有很大差异，范围从2.3%到72.3%，这表明镉与某些食物有很强的结合力。该研究采用了两根尺寸排阻柱（最佳范围分别为0.1 - 7 kDa和10 - 600 kDa），对其进行了优化以提高色谱峰分辨率和分析时间，从而分离提取的化合物。该研究确定了植物性食物中不同的镉螯合模式，特别是在1 - 20 kDa范围内。多元素形态分析数据用于检测蛋白质和其他化合物，包括植酸、植物螯合肽和代谢物，突出了它们的螯合特性。本文建立的方法代表了植物性食物中镉形态分析的重要进展，并为未来的生物可及性研究带来了希望。
