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Profiling fragments for carotenoid esters in Penaeus monodon by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole‐Orbitrap high‐resolution mass spectrometry
Author(s) -
Li Shuang,
Fang Keyi,
Chen Shubing,
Xu Jilin,
Chen Juanjuan,
Chen Haimin
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.8938
Subject(s) - astaxanthin , chemistry , penaeus monodon , orbitrap , carotenoid , chromatography , mass spectrometry , biochemistry , fishery , biology , shrimp
Rationale The precise identification of carotenoid esters of Penaeus monodon , especially those in the carotenoid skeleton, needs to occur during mass spectrometry analysis. Detailed structural information about carotenoid esters is significant not only for the assessment of nutritional quality, but also for tracing biosynthetic precursors. Methods The profiling of carotenoid esters in P. monodon was elucidated using ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole‐Orbitrap high‐resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC/Q‐Orbitrap‐HRMS). The raw LC/MS data were analyzed using Exact Finder™ software. Results The structurally relevant ions, *l and *m , were considered markers of the astaxanthin monoester. Moreover, the carotenoid skeleton was unequivocally identified using the diagnostic ions *i , *j / *j’ and *g / *g’ generated by the carbon–carbon bond cleavage between β‐ionone ketones and conjugated polyene moieties. In total, 24 carotenoid esters were identified in P. monodon based on the fragmentation patterns discussed above. The identified carotenoid skeleton includes astaxanthin, astacene, oxidized astaxanthin and adonixanthin, which have been described for the first time. Conclusions Characterization of the unknown carotenoid esters demonstrates the capabilities of this methodology, which is significant for enriching the carotenoid species in P. monodon .