Rapid and sensitive LC-MS/MS determination of ergot alkaloids in buffered solutions: application to in vitro testing of a clay-based mycotoxin binder

A rapid liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the determination of ergot alkaloids in buffered solutions from in vitro studies. The method implied a liquid-liquid extraction of the analytes under alkaline conditions prior to LC-MS/MS analysis and resulted in good recovery (91-123%) of the six ergot alkaloids defined by the European Food Safety Authority as most important, namely ergometrine, ergosine, ergotamine, ergocornine, ergokryptine and ergocristine, as well as their corresponding epimers. The method also proved to be sensitive, repeatable, linear, accurate and robust. Furthermore, the method was applied to evaluate the in vitro binding efficacy of a clay-based mycotoxin binder towards ergometrine, ergosine and ergocornine, through a design encompassing pH 3.0 and 6.8 to mimic the digestive tract. The binder demonstrated binding efficacy of 24, 93 and 97%, respectively, for these ergot alkaloids