TY - CONF A1 - Kuner, Maximilian A1 - Kühn, Susanne A1 - Koch, Matthias A1 - Haase, Hajo T1 - Cleaving ergot alkaloids - development of a novel food screening method N2 - Mycotoxins (toxic compounds formed by fungi) in food and feed have caused problems for mankind since the beginning of time. The group of ergot alkaloids plays a special role in human history. Several tens of thousands of deaths during the middle ages caused by to ergotism (the disease caused by continuous intake of ergot alkaloid contaminated food) underscore the importance of reliable analytical methods to ensure food safety. More than 50 compounds belong to the group of ergot alkaloids. The 12 most found structures – the major ergot alkaloids – are typically measured, when it comes to ergot alkaloid quantification. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a fluorescence detector (FLD) is typically used to quantify the ergot alkaloid content. The main disadvantage of this method are the high costs for calibration standards (12 different calibration substances are required). But also, the time and effort required for the analysis of 12 peaks and overlapping signals that occur in complex food samples such as bread. As all ergot alkaloids share the ergoline structure and just differ in the substituents attached to this backbone, measurement of all ergot alkaloids in one sum parameter presents a time and cost saving alternative. The most important step for the development of such a sum parameter method is the reaction used to transfer all ergot alkaloids to one uniform structure. Two promising reactions, the acidic esterification to lysergic acid methyl ester and hydrazinolysis to lysergic acid hydrazide, were examined for possible use in a routine analysis method. In addition to yield and reaction rate, factors such as handling of the reaction and the possibility of parallel sample workup play a role. T2 - Adlershofer Forschungsforum 2022 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 11.11.2022 KW - Ergot alkaloids KW - Screening PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56585 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -