Simplified LC-MS Method for Analysis of Sterols in Biological Samples

Abstract

We developed a simple and robust liquid chromatographic/mass spectrometric method (LC-MS) for the quantitative analysis of 10 sterols from the late part of cholesterol synthesis (zymosterol, dehydrolathosterol, 7-dehydrodesmosterol, desmosterol, zymostenol, lathosterol, FFMAS, TMAS, lanosterol, and dihydrolanosterol) from cultured human hepatocytes in a single chromatographic run using a pentafluorophenyl (PFP) stationary phase. The method also avails on a minimized sample preparation procedure in order to obtain a relatively high sample throughput. The method was validated on 10 sterol standards that were detected in a single chromatographic LC-MS run without derivatization. Our developed method can be used in research or clinical applications for disease-related detection of accumulated cholesterol intermediates. Disorders in the late part of cholesterol synthesis lead to severe malformation in human patients. The developed method enables a simple, sensitive, and fast quantification of sterols, without the need of extended knowledge of the LC-MS technique, and represents a new analytical tool in the rising field of cholesterolomics.

Advances in Technologies for Highly Active Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Krill Oil: Clinical Applications

“…Krill oil also contains an important fraction of sterols that range between 2.3-3.9% of total lipids [42]. Desmosterol and cholesterol represent the most abundant sterols of the total sterols [30]. Desmosterol is the precursor of cholesterol and represents 1.70-18.63% of total sterols [17].…”

“…Other than the organic compounds responsible for the pharmacological activity of krill oil, there is also a large quantity of minerals that have been characterized in some krill samples. Indeed, one of the most abundant minerals contained in krill is calcium (1322 mg/100 g) which can be exploited for bone health, phosphorus (1140 mg/100 g), and magnesium (360 mg/100 g) [30]. Other minerals are contained in minor quantities such as zinc, selenium and potassium.…”

A sterol-defined system for quantitative studies of sterol metabolism in C. elegans

“…Differences in the levels of derivatization of various sterols in the same sample or between samples can affect data quantification, interpretation, and reproducibility. The use of Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) enables the analysis of sterols from biological samples without derivatization ( Skubic et al., 2020 , Qiu et al., 2021 ) however, the analysis of sterols by LC-MS has other limitations ( Jenner and Brown, 2017 ).…”

Molecular Docking of Soybean (Glycine max) Seed and Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Rhizome Components as Anti-Diabetic Through Inhibition of Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 (DPP-4) and Alpha-Glucosidase Enzymes

“…Furthermore, stigmasterol has the potential anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-osteoarthritis, hypoglycemic and antioxidant effects. 22 On the other hand, Z. officinale contains many active phenolic components such as gingerol and shogaol that have antioxidant and anti-cancer effects. Phenolic compounds have activity as antioxidants due to their ability to stabilize free radicals by providing hydrogen atoms to free radicals.…”