Tracing the Thermal History of Seafood Products through Lysophospholipid Analysis by Hydrophilic Interaction Liquid Chromatography–Electrospray Ionization Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Low temperature treatments commonly applied to seafood products have been shown to influence their phospholipid (PL) profile through enzymatic hydrolysis. In the present study, the generation of lysophospholipids (LPL) resulting from this process was systematically investigated for selected, commercially relevant seafood products, namely oysters, clams, octopuses, and shrimps. These products were subjected to thermal treatments like refrigeration or freezing after being purchased as fresh, defrozen, or frozen products depending on the case. The coupling between hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) and electrospray ionization with high resolution/accuracy Fourier transform mass spectrometry (ESI-FTMS) was exploited to evaluate the PL profile of the cited products, especially the incidence of LPL related to the two main PL classes of seafood products—phosphatidylcholines (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamines (PE)—in the lipid extracts. The lyso forms of PE (LPE) were found to be generally more sensitive than those of PC (LPC) to thermal treatments, usually exhibiting a significant increase upon prolonged refrigeration at 4 °C in all types of investigated products except European flat oysters. Moreover, the distinction between fresh and frozen or defrozen products could be achieved in the case of octopuses and shrimps, respectively.

Applications of lipidomics in marine organisms: progress, challenges and future perspectives

“…137 Additionally, lipidomics represents an efficient tool to control seafood safety and quality. 138,139 The phospholipidome of commercially relevant seafood products (oysters, clams, octopuses, and shrimps) was screened to evaluate the effect of thermal preservation frequently applied in the commercialization of these organisms (e.g., shipping, storage). An increase of the lyso PL classes LPC and LPE with C20 and C22 fatty acyl chain was observed on prolonged refrigeration (7 days) of oysters and clams.…”

“…An increase of the lyso PL classes LPC and LPE with C20 and C22 fatty acyl chain was observed on prolonged refrigeration (7 days) of oysters and clams. 138 Furthermore, the analysis of PL allowed discriminating fresh and frozen or thawed products of octopuses and shrimps. 138 Most lipidomic studies have analysing the whole organism; however, some studies have performed a lipidome profile of different tissues, revealing the potential applications of seafood by-products or less valued species.…”

“…138 Furthermore, the analysis of PL allowed discriminating fresh and frozen or thawed products of octopuses and shrimps. 138 Most lipidomic studies have analysing the whole organism; however, some studies have performed a lipidome profile of different tissues, revealing the potential applications of seafood by-products or less valued species. The Japanese abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino is the main commercially-farmed species of abalone, its foot muscle is used for human nutrition, while viscera and gonad tissues are discarded as by-products.…”

LIPIC: An Automated Workflow to Account for Isotopologue-Related Interferences in Electrospray Ionization High-Resolution Mass Spectra of Phospholipids

“…Amphiphilic lipid molecules, such as GL, GPL, and SM, are separated as a function of their hydrophobic moieties, namely fatty acyl or alkyl chains linked to the glycerol backbone, when RPC is adopted. In the case of HILIC, the retention on the polar stationary phase involves the headgroup linked to glycerol, thus resulting in a very efficient class-related separation. ,,− In recent years, this feature has been extensively exploited also in our laboratory for the characterization of complex lipid mixtures in clinical and food lipidomics, based on the ESI-mediated coupling between HILIC and low- or high-resolution mass spectrometry. − …”

“…Alternatively, calibration of MS responses based on standards can finally lead to concentration estimates. In any case, a reliable evaluation of MS response is required, and it can be initially obtained as a chromatographic peak area calculated from the extracted ion current (EIC) chromatogram referred to each compound (see, for example, refs , , , and ). Nonetheless, an equivalent but less time-consuming approach is represented by retrieving the intensity observed for the ion related to each compound in the mass spectrum averaged over the lipid class retention time interval.…”