Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal: Food chemistry advances

Volume number: 2

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.focha.2023.100283

Publisher: Elsevier

Abstract: 

Screening for antibiotic residues in animal-derived food is largely done by in vitro assays. However, a non-negligible number of positive screening results (sum values) remains with no confirmation by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-sophisticated mass spectrometers. To investigate this inconsistency, a hyphenated strategy was sought that combines on the same surface planar chromatography−multi-imaging with antibacterial planar bioassays. Strong antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was revealed in four animal-derived food extracts (pig muscle, cow milk, chicken eggs, and honey), which, however, were previously proven to be veterinary drug residue-free. This antibacterial effect was strong, extremely exceeding the effect from a mixture of 81 veterinary drugs spiked at 300 µg/kg, which is about 3 times the maximum residue limit of most of these veterinary drugs. The unknown antibacterial zones were online-eluted to high-resolution mass spectrometry to obtain molecular formulas. Endogenous fatty acids and lipids were identified to be responsible for the strong antibacterial effects, confirmed by co-analyzed reference compounds. These results resolved the methodological inconsistency but also question the prevailing understanding: Current food safety only based on target analysis of regulated antibiotic residues neglects consumer protection when the much stronger antibacterial impact of food on the human microbiome is overlooked.

Harvard Citation style: Mehl, A. and Morlock, G. (2023) Strong antibacterial effects in animal-derived food detected via non-target planar bioassays, Food chemistry advances, 2, Article 100283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.focha.2023.100283

APA Citation style: Mehl, A., & Morlock, G. (2023). Strong antibacterial effects in animal-derived food detected via non-target planar bioassays. Food chemistry advances. 2, Article 100283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.focha.2023.100283