Abstract

The heterocyclic amines (HAs) are a family of mutagenic/carcinogenic chemicals formed from the cooking of muscle meats such as beef, meat, fowl, and fish. A major draw back in the analysis of HAs from foods is their very low level of concentration (ng/g) and a number of matrix interferences in samples. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) is one of the procedures widely used for the extraction and purification of HAs in food samples. In this study, several SPE procedures of HAs determination were performed. Recoveries of the HAs were obtained from comparing a matrix such as a standard methanolic solution and pre-cooked meat extracts. Recovery values were ranging between 25.3 and 93.0 % at a concentration of 25.0 ng/g. HAs were determined with high sensitivity by micro-HPLC (<TEX>${\mu}$</TEX>-HPLC) analysis with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Another developed method, which is freezing filtration method, shows better extraction recoveries and good precisions. The established method will be applicable to monitoring of heterocyclic amines from the cooked meat.