whitepaper

Application note: POPs in supplements by SBSE-Isotope Dilution-GC-MS/MS

Sensitive, accurate and precise determination of POPs in plant-extract based dietary supplements using (SBSE)-GC-MS/MS and isotope dilution MS (IDMS).

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) resist photolytic, biological, and chemical degradation and can bio-accumulate through the food chain. Dietary supplements are a suspected source of exposure. This AppNote presents an effective and efficient extraction and analysis protocol for POPs in dietary supplements. The Isotope Dilution MS (IDMS) technique used delivers efficient quantification of POPs in plant-extract based dietary supplements, in direct comparison with calibration curves it is demonstrated to provide improved accuracy, precision, and efficiency of the analysis. The optimised and validated method was used to quantify POPs in 12 commercially available dietary supplements. PAHs were detected in most of the products and DDT, the most frequently detected OCP, was found in 8 products. On average, 12 analytes were detected in each sample with a mean concentration of 1.31 ng/g. When converted to daily intake amounts and compared with existing guidelines, it was found that none of the quantified analytes in the investigated dietary supplement exceeded the thresholds set for individual contaminants.