Determination of natamycin in dairy products by capillary electrophoresis

Natamycin is a polyene macrolid that is applied as food preservatives to protect food quality. It is isolated from Streptomyces spp. that is available in South African soils. In this study, a fast, economical and environmentally friendly capillary electrophoresis method for the determination of natamycin which used to prevent mold and mushroom that may occur in cheese crust, cheese and yoghurt was developed. This method has been validated and successfully applied to the samples of kashar, ayran and yoghurt on the Turkish market. Recovery values are also calculated. In the second step, the determination of natamycin was also performed using the LC-MS/MS method. In addition, LC-MS/MS method was used for the determination of degradation product of natamycin; acidic, basic, photolytic, oxidative and thermal conditions. According to m/z values and decomposition products, possible natamycin degradation mechanisms and decomposition products were estimated.