Analysis of tetracyclines in honey and royal jelly by LC/MS/MS

A simple and accurate method using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) was developed for the determination of tetracyclines (TCs), i.e., oxytetracycline (OTC), chlortetracycline (CTC) and tetracycline (TC), in honey and royal jelly. Mass spectral acquisition was performed in the positive mode. In LC separation, L-column ODS and 0.01% formic acid-acetonitrile were used as the column and mobile phase, respectively. TCs in a honey sample were diluted with water, while TCs in royal jelly were extracted with 2% metaphosphoric acid-methanol (6:4). They were cleaned up with Oasis HLB and Sep Pak C18 cartridges, respectively. The quantification limits of TC, OTC, and CTC were 5, 5, and 10 ng/g, respectively, while those in royal jelly were 25, 25, and 50 ng/g, respectively. The recoveries of TCs from both honey and royal jelly were 75-120%.