Determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH4) in the Traditional Lebanese Grilled Chicken: Implementation of New, Rapid and Economic Analysis Method

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH4) (benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, and benzo[a]pyrene) are evaluated in a traditional and widely consumed staple in Lebanon "Lebanese Grilled Chicken." Forty samples with different local additives grilled by charcoal were purchased from different restaurants located in different regions in Lebanon. For this purpose, a simple and a reliable analytical method based on sonication technique and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer (GC-MS) has been developed and validated. Several parameters affecting the extraction efficiency, such as the nature and the volume of the extract solvent, as well as other factors were investigated and optimized. The developed method is environmentally and economically friendly with a minimized consuming time, consisting of a single sonication step for 15 min using 12 mL of non-carcinogenic solvent acetonitrile (ACN) and without any further concentration prior to analysis. Following extraction, the cleanup step was based on freezing and d-SPE by C18 addition. Under optimized conditions, the method performances were evaluated; the limits of quantification (LOQs) achieved were lower than 0.689 mu g kg(-1), and these values fit the performance criteria for the method given by the EC that defined the LOQ values of PAH lower than 0.9 mu g kg(-1). In addition, the recovery values of the analyzed PAHs ranged from 88.9 to 119.3% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 8% (n = 15). The levels of PAH4 were in the range from 1.52 to 49.9 mu g kg(-1), where about 40% of the Lebanese grilled chicken exceeded the EU commission MRLs of 12 mu g kg(-1).