Quantification of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Various Fruit Types: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The exposure of humans to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through fruits is a scarcely investigated topic. The atmospheric deposition of PAHs could contribute to such an issue. The present paper would like to propose an easy, fast, and routinary analytical method to extract and quantify PAHs in apples, pears, and grapes. Dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction allowed us to recover PAHs ranging between 68.0 ± 1.2 and 96.2 ± 0.8% from fruit. Gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector analysis showed satisfactory analytical parameters, with details like R2 > 0.9912 in a concentration range of 0.5–500 µg mL−1, with a variability ranging within 0.7–2.3%. Rural fruit samples were found to be more contaminated by PAHs compared to urban samples, likely due to the use of non-green fuels in rural areas considered in this study. Further in-depth research on this topic is strongly recommended due to the relevance of fruits in the Mediterranean diet.