Simultaneous determination of estrogens and progestogens in honey using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

This work describes the development and validation of a method for the simultaneous determination of 13 estrogens and progestogens in honey by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The hormones were preconcentrated by solid phase extraction. Pretreatment variables were optimized for a better compatibility with electrospray ionization interfaced mass spectrometry. The analytes were analyzed in multiple-reaction monitoring mode with two pairs of precursor product ion transitions. The proposed method was validated with method detection limits of 0.01-0.33 ng/g and good linearities (r(2) > 0.9901) throughout the studied concentration range. The recoveries of analytes at the spiking levels (5 ng/g and 25 ng/g) ranged from 71.2% to 99.7%, with relative standard deviations below 20%. The method was used to determine the target compounds in honey samples (orange blossom, clover and multiflower) obtained from supermarkets. Two samples of honey were found to contain trace amounts of estrone (<MQL) or progesterone (0.2 +/- 0.1 ng/g), respectively. Published by Elsevier B.V.