%0 Journal Article
%T Rapid evaluation of γ-aminobutyric acid in foodstuffs by direct real-time mass spectrometry.
%A Li W
%A Wu X
%A Yuan X
%A Zhou W
%A Wu T
%J Food Chem
%V 277
%N 0
%D Mar 2019 30
%M 30502194
%F 9.231
%R 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.10.127
%X Direct analysis in real-time ionization coupled with mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was first applied for the rapid determination of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in foods. Samples of germinated barley and fermented beans containing GABA at different levels were used, and the results were compared with those obtained by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-ESI-MS). After a series of optimization, a simple sample extraction procedure using 30% methanol aqueous solution was conducted, followed by direct determination of sample extracts without chromatographic separation or prior derivatization. The optimized DART-MS method exhibited low limits of detection (0.040 mg·kg-1) and good recovery rates (88.6%-104%). The Aspergillus oryzae-fermented black beans produced the highest amount GABA. The results for the samples slightly varied between DART-MS and UHPLC-ESI-MS. Current findings indicate that DART-MS could be a high-throughput alternative to classic UHPLC-ESI-MS.