Food Lipidomics: Development and application of a cutting-edge untargeted 4D HRMS workflow for the lipid profiling of food of animal origin

Dietary lipids are crucial for human health, with animal-origin foods like pork and chicken meat serving as significant lipid sources, containing essential compounds like n-3/6 fatty acids, unsaturated triglycerides, and phospholipids. Understanding the lipidomic profiles of these meats is important for grasping their nutritional benefits. In this study, an untargeted 4D lipidomics workflow was developed, incorporating MTBE and MeOH microextraction with UPLC-TIMS-QTOF-MS for comprehensive lipid analysis. This technique, with the addition of ion mobility separation, significantly improved lipid identification by effectively distinguishing isobaric and isomeric compounds, allowing us to identify 395 unique lipids across four classes and ten subclasses. Notably, phospholipids emerged as the predominant class, and the presence of health-beneficial n-3 fatty acids was confirmed. Our comparative analysis highlighted the superior resolution and selectivity of the TIMS-ON mode over TIMS-OFF, underscoring its advantages in lipidomic research. These findings provide deep insights into the nutritional properties of pork and chicken, emphasizing the importance of phospholipids, glycerolipids, and n-3 fatty acids. This research not only enriches our understanding of the lipid profiles in these meats but also supports the development of enhanced dietary guidelines and further investigations into the nutritional value of animal-derived foods.