Determination of Phosphatidylcholine in Shrimp by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

ABSTRACT

The molecular species of phosphatidylcholine from freshwater sources (Macrobranchium nipponense and Macrobranchium rosenbergii) and marine sources (Euphausia superba and Penaeus chinesis) were characterized by high-resolution mass spectrometry. The tandem secondary mass spectrometry (MS/MS) fragmentation allowed for the identification of fatty acyl residues of phosphatidylcholine molecular species. (16:0–18:1)Phosphatidylcholine was the main phosphatidylcholine molecular species determined in all shrimp samples, especially in E. superba. Macrobranchium rosenbergii phosphatidylcholine was particularly rich in (16:0–20:5)phosphatidylcholine and (16:0–22:6)phosphatidylcholine. The proportion of the two molecular species was next to the phosphatidylcholine of E. superba. Therefore, M. rosenbergii appears to be a potential freshwater source for the supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6). This approach may be used as an efficient method for the identification of natural phosphatidylcholine sources from the broad range of plant, animal, and marine origins.

KEYWORDS:

• high-performance liquid chromatography
• High-resolution mass spectrometry
• phosphatidylcholine
• shrimp
• thin-layer chromatography

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (31501521), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20140701), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (KJQN201649).