Structure elucidation of transformation products of toxic plant alkaloids in stored or processed foods

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The research project aims to elucidate potential transformation products of the food contaminats pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA), tropane alkaloids (TA) and colchicine (COL). Products of these toxic plants alkaloids can arise during the storage or further processing of contaminated food or raw materials. Herein, the project focuses on the effects of storage, thermal processing (baking) and microbial fermentation on the toxic alkaloids PA, TA and COL in the relevant food matrices honey, bread and milk or yoghurt, respectively. In detail, the project aims to examine the effects of honey storing on PA-N-oxides, baking of bread on TA and fermentation of yogurt on PA and COL.For this, the required analytical methods have to be established, and artificially contaminated samples from the above mentiones food matrices have to be produced. The PA, TA and COL contents are examined at regular intervals during the storage of honey or during the process of baking bread and fermenting milk into yoghurt. In case of the expected decrease of the initial contents of PA, TA and COL, potential transformation products of the toxic alkaloids are identified by untargeted analysis of the native material samples and product samples, using high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC QToF-HRMS) combined with multivariate data analysis. Effects on the degradation of the native alkaloid compounds as well as the formation of transformation products are determined via a variation of process parameters. Finally, possible formation pathways of identified transformation products from PA, TA and COL are postulated with the obtained data .