马兜铃酸（Aristolochic acids，简称AAs）是由马兜铃科（Aristolochia和Asarum属）的植物自然产生的具有肾毒性和致癌性的硝基菲酚羧酸。这些植物广泛用于中药。除了通过摄入含有AAs的中药产品，现有的证据表明人类还通过环境暴露于AAs。2022年，世界卫生组织（WHO）呼吁全球采取行动，去除AAs的暴露源并实施预防措施以防止AA相关癌症的发展。在本文中，我们报告了一种简单高效的铁粉填充还原柱方法，该方法可在线将不发光的AAs转化为其对应的强荧光化合物马兜锁内酰胺（aristolactam, AL），实现对中药产品、粮食、农田土壤或地下水样品中AAs的高效液相色谱荧光检测。此外，AL是AAs的天然衍生物，已经证明对培养细菌、人类细胞和大鼠具有毒性作用，本方法可同时检测和定量测定AA和AL，无需降低灵敏度。与现有的AA测量方法相比，这种新方法不仅成本低廉、工作量较少，而且灵敏度有所提高。我们相信这种新颖的方法将在食品、中药和环境样品中广泛应用，从而有助于确定和消除AAs的暴露源。

Aristolochic acids (AAs) are nephrotoxic and carcinogenic nitrophenanthrene carboxylic acids produced naturally by plants from the Aristolochia and Asarum genera, which have been used extensively as herbal medicines. In addition to consuming AA-containing herbal medicinal products, there is emerging evidence that humans are also exposed to AA through the environment. In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for global action to remove AA exposure sources and to implement preventative measures against the development of AA-associated cancers. Herein, we report the development of a simple and efficient iron powder-packed reduction column that allows online post-column conversion of the nonfluorescing AA to its corresponding strongly fluorescing aristolactam (AL), facilitating the sensitive and selective detection of AA in herbal medicinal products, food grain, arable soil, or groundwater samples by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Moreover, AL, a group of naturally occurring derivatives of AA that have demonstrated toxicity to cultured bacteria, human cells, and rats, is monitored and quantified simultaneously with AA in one single run without sacrificing sensitivity. In comparison with existing analytical methods for AA measurement, the newly developed method is not only inexpensive and less laborious, but it also offers improved sensitivity. We believe this novel method will find wide application in identifying the presence of AA in food, herbal medicines, and environmental samples, thus assisting in the identification and removal of AA exposure sources.