TY - JOUR A1 - Kuner, Maximilian A1 - Kühn, S. A1 - Haase, H. A1 - Meyer, Klas A1 - Koch, Matthias T1 - Cleaving Ergot Alkaloids by Hydrazinolysis - A Promising Approach for a Sum Parameter Screening Method N2 - Ergot alkaloids are mycotoxins formed by fungi of the Claviceps genus, which are some of the most common contaminants of food and feed worldwide. These toxins are a structurally heterogeneous group of compounds, sharing an ergoline backbone. Six structures and their corresponding stereoisomers are typically quantified by either HPLC-FLD or HPLC-MS/MS and the values subsequently summed up to determine the total ergot alkaloid content. For the development of a screening method targeting all ergot alkaloids simultaneously, the alkaloids need to be transferred to one homogeneous structure: a lysergic acid derivative. In this study, two promising cleaving methods—acidic esterification and hydrazinolysis—are compared, using dihydroergocristine as a model compound. While the acidic esterification proved to be unsuitable, due to long reaction times and oxidation sensitivity, hydrazinolysis reached a quantitative yield in 40-60 min. Parallel workup of several samples is possible. An increasing effect on the reaction rate by the addition of ammonium iodide was demonstrated. Application of hydrazinolysis to a major ergot alkaloid mix solution showed that all ergopeptines were cleaved, but ergometrine/-inine was barely affected. Still, hydrazinolysis is a suitable tool for the development of a sum parameter screening method for ergot alkaloids in food and feed. KW - Ergot alkaloids KW - Sum parameter method KW - Hydrazinolysis KW - Esterification PY - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-527508 VL - 13 IS - 5 SP - 342 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Switzerland AN - OPUS4-52750 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -