Detection of mold in processed foods by high performance liquid chromatography
1985
Lin, H.H. | Cousin, M.A.
Extract: A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed to analyze for the degree of mold contamination in processed fruit and vegetable products. The method is based on detection of glucosamine, a major breakdown product of chitin. Food samples were hydrolyzed at 11 degrees C for 2 h to release glusoamine from fungal chitin. The hydrolysates were partially purified by passing them through a Dowex-50 cation exchanger. Effluents were derivatized by o-phthalaldehyde and the fluorogenic reaction products were separated by reverse-phase HPLC and detected by a spectrofluorometer. Six species of mold, Alternaria alternata, Alternaria solani, Colletotrichum coccodes, Fusarium oxysporum, Geoteichum candidum and Rhizopus stolonifer, which are commonly associated with fruit and vegetable products, were used in this study and different levels of mold mycelium were added to rot-free tomato products. A linear relationship between concentration and glucosamine was observed. However, different species of mold gave different amounts of glucosamine. The effect of insect contamination on the assay was negligible, unless high levels were present. Results obtained by the HPLC method were compared with those obtained with an amino acid analyzer and reasonable correlation between the two methods was evident. (wz)
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