Determination of amygdalin in kernels and their products by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Amygdalin is a cyanogenic glycoside, a natural toxicant in Rosaceae spp. such as almonds, peaches, and apricots, and may appear in products containing them. Amygdalin, after being absorbed into the body, will be hydrolyzed and release hydrocyanic acid, which is capable of causing poisoning in humans. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with negative mode electrospray ionization and multi-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used to develop and validate a method for determining amygdalin on food according to AOAC guidelines. Chloramphenicol was chosen as the internal standard. The mobile phase consists of two channels: channel A (formic acid 0.1%), channel B (acetonitril) and the solid phase is symmetry C18 column (3 mm × 150 mm, 3.5 μm). The method has been validated according to AOAC 2016 guidelines. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation of amygdalin in food was 15 and 50 μg/kg, respectively. The linearity ranges from 1.68 to 33.6 ng/mL. Recovery was from 86.2 to 110.0 %, and the relative standard was from 2.8 to 5.0 %. The validated method is applied to determine amygdalin content in some kernels and their products on Hanoi's market.