OCCURRENCE OF TROPANE ALKALOIDS IN MAIZE DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF SOLANACEAE FAMILY

Tropane alkaloids are considered to be serious health hazard for humans and that their maximum residue levels in food and feed are still not established. In this paper five samples of maize collected from the local producer in 2020 have been investigated by the liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the atropine and scopolamine determination. The detected concentrations of atropine and scopolamine were extremely high (17.7-67.0 μg/kg for atropine and 2.3-10.4 μg/kg for scopolamine). The obtained results show the seriousness of the tropane alkaloids problem in maize as well as the need for monitoring and further research.