Comparative Lipid Profile Analysis of Four Fish Species by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry.

A high-throughput lipid analysis method was established to comprehensively investigate the lipid profiles of three marine (, , and ) and one freshwater () fish species using ultraperformance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Over 700 molecular species from 12 major lipid subclasses were identified. Glycerolipids (73.7-85.6%) and phospholipids (PLs, 13.7-25.6%) were dominant components in total lipids. Polyunsaturated fatty acid PLs, such as phosphatidylethanolamine (PE, 16:0-22:6), PE (18:1-22:6), and phosphatidylcholine (16:0-22:6), were the major molecular species in PLs. The lipid composition of three marine fish (mainly C22:5) was significantly different from that in (mainly C20:4 and C20:5). A unique long-chain base of sphingolipids was found in fish (mainly d19:3). These bioactive lipids were proposed to be potential biomarkers for distinguishing different fish species and evaluating nutritional values.