Lipidomic profiling of Skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry

Abstract

A method of ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS) was established for characterization of the lipid profile of Skipjack tuna. Over 300 lipid molecular species were identified through cross-acquisition in both positive and negative ion mode. Phospholipids (PLs) were dominant in Skipjack tuna. Lysophosphatidylethanolamine (LPE), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and phosphatidylcholine (PC) were the main lipid molecular species in PLs, accounting for 89.24% of the total PLs. The ratio of sphingolipids (SLs) and glycerolipids (GLs) were considerable, accounting for 12.30% and 13.60% of the total lipids respectively. Ceramide (Cer) was the main lipid molecular species of SLs, accounting for 64.96% of total SLs, followed by sphingomyelin (SM), accounting for 25.45% of total SLs. Ether diglycerides (ether DG) were the main lipid molecular species of GLs (97.83%). The main fatty acids (FAs) are unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) in Skipjack tuna. Besides, a new FAs class branched fatty acid esters of hydroxy fatty acids (FAHFA) was detected, together with the FA. The active lipids identified in this study can be used to evaluate the nutritional value of Skipjack tuna.