Differentiation of the qualified tea beverages from the spoiled ones by the LC-MS based analysis of their polycarboxylic acids

Polycarboxylic acids (PACs) are important metabolic products in almost all living bodies, yet current analytical methods for PACs detection in tea beverages are still unsatisfactory due to their complex matrix and physicochemical properties of PACs. In this work, a rapid method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 7 PACs, including tartaric acid, α-ketoglutaric acid, malic acid, malonic acid, cis-aconitic acid, succinic acid and fumaric acid, in beverages, based on selective removal of the matrix in combination with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. By stirring with activated carbon and the Na2CO3 solution, the matrix in beverages was selectively removed, and PACs were almost retained in the supernatant of diluted Na2CO3 solution. Under optimized parameters, the limit of quantitation for the PACs was in the range of 1-50 ng/mL, and the content of the PACs in 8 beverages was determined with the recovery range of 72.2–122.5%. The content of malic acid, malonic acid, and succinic acid in tea beverages was found to be more than that in non-tea beverages, respectively. Moreover, the concentration of these PACs in beverages was found to be multiplied many times in their deterioration period, especially for fumaric acid and α-ketoglutaric acid. These results indicated that PACs can be selected as a criterion to differentiate the qualified tea beverages from the spoiled ones.