Edible bird's nests (EBNs), a food of animal origin, are temporary nests built by swiftlets to foster their offspring. As EBNs and their products are widely accepted by consumers, the safety of hormones in EBNs has also received increasing attention. The establishment of a method for hormone analysis in EBNs and the investigation of hormone levels based on the analytical method are the most effective measures to eliminate any safety concerns. In this study, a multi-residue method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 45 hormones in EBNs, including estrogens, progesterones, androgens, and cortical hormones. EBN samples (1.0 g) were weighed into 50 mL polypropylene centrifuge tubes and mixed with 8 mL of pure water. Then, the samples were extracted twice with 15 mL of acetonitrile and ethyl acetate (1∶1, v/v) under ultrasonic-assisted conditions for 30 min, and the protein in the EBN samples was precipitated at 4000 r/min for 5 min. The clear supernatants were loaded onto a hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced (HLB) SPE column, which was previously activated with methanol (3 mL) followed by pure water (3 mL). The cartridge was washed with 3 mL of pure water and 3 mL of 50% methanol aqueous solution. The hormones were eluted with 3 mL of methanol. A rapid analysis was performed using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The hormones in the extracting solution were separated on a Phenomenex Kinetex C18 column (100 mm×2.1 mm, 2.6 μm) and eluted by gradient elution with acetonitrile-0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (ESI+) or acetonitrile-water (ESI-). Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed using the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The HPLC-MS/MS results showed good linearity in the range of 0.20-20.0 μg/L with correlation coefficients (R2) ≥0.9990. For the 45 hormones, the limits of detection (LODs, S/N≥3) were 0.04-0.70 μg/kg and the limits of quantification (LOQs, S/N≥10) were 0.16-2.00 μg/kg. The recoveries of five hormones, namely, fluorometholone, budesonide, aldosterone, fluocinonide, and ethinylestradiol, were 40.2%-63.6%. Owing to the low recoveries, this method might be suitable only for qualitative testing of the five hormones. The recoveries of the other 40 target analytes were between 72.2% and 112.3% at spiked levels of 2.0, 4.0, and 20.0 μg/kg with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 2.5%-11.6%. The method is characterized by easy operation, rapidness, high precision, and high sensitivity for the 40 compounds. Thus, this method is suitable for determination of the 40 hormones from EBNs for qualitative testing and quantitation. The proposed method was used to analyze 1021 EBN samples from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam from 2017 to 2021. Only three hormones, progesterone, boldenone, and androstenedione, were identified in the EBN samples, while the levels of the other hormones were lower than their individual LODs. The detected rates of progesterone, boldenone, and androstenedione were 100%, 79%, and 89%, respectively. The contents of progesterone, boldenone, and androstenedione in the EBN samples were 0.097-3.58 μg/kg, 0-0.096 μg/kg and 0-1.77 μg/kg, respectively. The levels of hormones in EBNs were compared with those in eggs, pure milk, and dairy products, which were also animal-derived foods. Androstenedione was detected in all egg samples monitored, and its content was higher than that in EBN samples, pure milk, and dairy products. The content of boldenone was similar among the four products investigated in this study. Based on risk assessment using progesterone, the dietary intake was found to be 3.54 μg/d from milk >1.09 μg/d from eggs >0.0030 μg/d from EBNs. The results showed that the levels of hormones in EBNs were much lower than those in eggs, milk, and dairy products for daily consumption. Based on this investigation, the health effect of the hormones in EBNs may be insignificant.
建立了固相萃取-高效液相色谱-串联质谱(SPE-HPLC-MS/MS)同时测定食用燕窝中皮质激素、雌激素、雄激素及孕激素等5类45种激素的多残留分析方法。采用乙腈-乙酸乙酯(1∶1, v/v)超声辅助提取、亲水亲脂平衡固相萃取柱净化,甲醇洗脱。分别在正、负电喷雾电离源、多反应监测模式下检测45种激素。正离子模式下的流动相为乙腈-0.1%甲酸水溶液,负离子模式下的流动相为乙腈-水,色谱柱为Phenomenex Kinetex C18柱(100 mm×2.1 mm, 2.6 μm)。在优化条件下,45种激素在0.20~20.0 μg/L范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(R2)≥0.9990,方法的检出限(LOD)为0.04~0.70 μg/kg,定量限(LOQ)为0.16~2.00 μg/kg。按三水平(2.0、4.0、20.0 μg/kg)进行加标回收试验,氟米龙、布地奈德、醛固酮、醋酸氟轻松、炔雌醇的回收率为40.2%~63.6%,可对这5种激素进行定性分析,其余40种激素的平均加标回收率为72.2%~112.3%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为2.5%~11.6%,该方法可对40种激素进行准确定性定量,精密度好,灵敏度高,简便、快速。从2017~2021年,通过研究建立的方法对来自马来西亚、印度尼西亚、泰国和越南等国家的1021个燕窝样品进行监测,仅勃地酮、雄烯二酮、孕酮有检出(大于检出限),其他激素均小于检出限。孕酮检出率为100%,勃地酮、雄烯二酮检出率分别为79%和89%, 3种激素含量范围分别为0.097~3.58、0~0.096和0~1.77 μg/kg。与同为动物源性食品的鸡蛋、纯牛奶、乳制品相比,所有测定的鸡蛋样品中均检出雄烯二酮,含量比其他3类产品略高;勃地酮在4类产品中的含量差别不大,均为微量;孕酮含量在鸡蛋中最高,其次是纯牛奶,燕窝中含量最低。研究结果表明,食用燕窝带入的激素种类少,含量低,对健康影响小。
Keywords: content level; edible bird's nest (EBN); high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS); hormones.