Ergot Alkaloids in Rye Flour Marketed in Czech Republic: Comparison Between ELISA and LC–MS Methodologies

Ergot alkaloids (EAs) are toxins produced by Claviceps purpurea fungi that may infect cereals, particularly rye. The present study describes the comparison between ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and ELISA for the determination of twelve ergot alkaloids in rye flour. The sample preparation for LC–MS analysis was done by the QuEChERS method and clean-up via freeze-out. The analytical LC–MS method was fully validated, and the validation parameters such as linearity, limit of quantification (LOQ), precision, accuracy and matrix effect were tested. The calibration curves were linear (R2 > 0.99) for all ergot alkaloids. The recoveries ranged from 74 to 104