{
  "abstract": "Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) and N-oxides (PANOs) are food-safety hazards subject to regulatory limits, and their occurrence in teas and herbal infusions (THI) represents a dietary route. This study aimed to develop and validate a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for determining five PAs and their PANOs in THI. Samples were extracted using hot acidified water to enhance PAs and PANOs extraction and subjected to solid-phase extraction (SPE) for clean-up and analyte preconcentration. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Luna® PFP (2) 3 µm 100 Å column using a gradient of 10 mM ammonium formate with 0.1% formic acid in water, ethanol, and methanol. The method was validated according to international guidelines, achieving detection and quantification limits of 0.41-6.60 ng/g and 1.25-20.0 ng/g. It was applied to 53 THI samples from five European countries, primarily from Portugal as a pilot monitoring study. N-oxides were the predominant form, with senecionine-N-oxide, heliotrine-N-oxide, and retrorsine-N-oxide most frequently detected in Portuguese-marketed products. The total target PA/PANO content was approximately twofold higher in herbal infusions than in teas, with chamomile showing the highest levels, followed by lemon verbena. The validated method provides a sensitive and suitable tool for preliminary assessment of PAs and PANOs in THI.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Associate Laboratory i4HB-Institute for Health and Bioeconomy, CESPU University, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal.",
    "UCIBIO-Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences, Toxicologic Pathology Research Laboratory, CESPU University, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal.",
    "LSRE-LCM, ALiCE, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal.",
    "UCIBIO-Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences, Translational Toxicology Research Laboratory, CESPU University, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal.",
    "UNIPRO-Oral Pathology and Rehabilitation Research Unit, CESPU University, 4585-116 Gandra, Portugal."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Ana Catarina Sousa",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1507-6529"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Daniela Pereira",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5711-7598"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Ana R L Ribeiro"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Virgínia M F Gonçalves",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9151-516X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Inês Pádua",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1100-9441"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Cláudia Ribeiro",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7245-4552"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sandra Leal",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6762-4534"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b5h835bm1wxyd.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/foods15203598",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13704718",
  "id": "b5h835bm1wxyd",
  "issns": [
    "2304-8158"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940235",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Plant Toxicity and Pharmacological Properties"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221311778",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13704718?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13704718",
  "pmid": "42940235",
  "published": "2026-10-10",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b5h835bm1wxyd.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:22:24Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42940235",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940235"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Plant Toxicity and Pharmacological Properties",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Determination of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Tea and Herbal Infusions by LC-MS/MS.",
  "title_text": "Determination of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids in Tea and Herbal Infusions by LC-MS/MS.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:22:24Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b5h835bm1wxyd",
  "venue": "Foods (Basel, Switzerland)",
  "versions": []
}