Characterization of mutagenic compounds in heated orange juice by UV and mass spectra

Gel filtration and high-performance liquid chromatography were used to obtain mutagenic fractions from heated orange juice (93°C, 2 min). Each fraction was submitted to the authors' modified Salmonella mutagenicity assay (pH adjustment to 7.4 and 4 h preincubation at 37°C) and examined for UV and mass spectra. Using fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry and mass analyzed ion kinetic energy techniques, an attempt was made to elucidate the molecular weight and chemical structure of the mutagenic compounds. They consisted of several compounds with molecular weight as follows: 162, 180, 254, 288, 342, 360 and 540 daltons.