UPLC-ESI-TOF MS Profiling Discriminates Biomarkers in Authentic and Adulterated Italian Samples of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

Lucrezia Angeli, Ksenia Morozova, Corinna Dawid, Matteo Scampicchio, Timo D. Stark

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Italian saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is gaining visibility due to its high quality and difference in growing area. In this study, the metabolite composition and quality of Italian saffron samples purchased from local producers and supermarkets were investigated using an untargeted metabolomics approach using UPLC-ESI-TOF MS with simultaneous acquisition of low- and high-collision energy mass spectrometry (MSe). Unsupervised statistical method (PCA) highlighted significant differences in the metabolomes, even if not related to the geographical origin. OPLS-DA revealed 9(S)-,10-(S)-,13-(S)-tri-hydroxy-11-(E)-octadecenoic acid as the most decisive compound to distinguish supermarket saffron, while oxidized crocins represented the most valuable markers to further describe the quality of saffron, even in locally produced samples. Known adulterations with paprika and turmeric were detected at a limit of 10%, and the increasing signals of cyclocurcumin was a significant biomarker for turmeric contamination. The results were underlined with conventional and kinetic antioxidant assays.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1783-1794
Number of pages12
JournalACS Food Science and Technology
Volume4
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 19 Jul 2024

Keywords

  • PCA
  • adulteration
  • crocins
  • high-resolution mass spectrometry
  • profiling

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