Quaternary ammonium compounds in medicinal herbs and health risk assessment

The rising global demand for medicinal herbs has increased human consumption, raising concerns about potential health risks related to quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), especially among infants due to frequent use in certain cultures. To perform a market survey, an LC-ESI-MS/MS method was developed to detect five QACs, including Benzalkonium Chlorides (BACs) and Dialkyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride (DDAC), in dry medicinal herbs. The method employed QuEChERS extraction with acetonitrile and achieved chromatographic separation with a poroshell C18 column. Method validation was conducted according to Eurachem and SANTE/11312/2021 guidelines, showing high sensitivity and selectivity, with recoveries between 70% and 110% and RSDs below 5%. The method was applied to market samples, resulting in 33% exceedances of the maximum residue limits. In this study also dietary exposure risks for adults, toddlers and infants were evaluated. Preliminary risk assessment indicated acceptable dietary exposure risks.全球药用植物需求持续攀升，带动人类消费量增长，由此引发了人们对季铵盐类化合物（quaternary ammonium compounds, QACs）潜在健康风险的担忧，其中由于部分文化中频繁使用相关物质，婴幼儿群体的健康风险尤为受到关注。为开展市场调研，本研究开发了一种液相色谱-电喷雾串联质谱（LC-ESI-MS/MS）方法，用于检测干燥药用植物中的5种季铵盐类化合物，包括苯扎氯铵（Benzalkonium Chlorides, BACs）与双烷基二甲基氯化铵（Dialkyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride, DDAC）。该方法采用以乙腈为溶剂的QuEChERS萃取法，并通过Poroshell C18色谱柱完成色谱分离。方法验证依据Eurachem与SANTE/11312/2021指南开展，结果显示该方法具备优异的灵敏度与选择性，回收率介于70%至110%之间，相对标准偏差（RSDs）低于5%。将该方法应用于市售样品检测后，发现33%的样品检出物超出最大残留限量标准。本研究同时评估了成人、幼儿与婴幼儿的膳食暴露风险，初步风险评估结果表明膳食暴露风险处于可接受水平。