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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BHNRC) » Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center » Diet, Genomics and Immunology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #390537
Research Project: Polyphenol-Rich Foods and Promotion of Intestinal Health

Location: Diet, Genomics and Immunology Laboratory

Title: Identification and distribution of sterols, bile acids, and acylcarnitines by LC-MS/MS in humans, mice, and pigs – a qualitative analysis

Author
item BABU, AMBRIN FARIZAH - University Of Eastern Finland
item KOISTINEN,, VILLE MIKAEL - University Of Turku
item TURUNEN, SOILE - University Of Eastern Finland
item Solano-Aguilar, Gloria
item Urban, Joseph
item ZAREI, IMAN - University Of Eastern Finland
item HANHINEVA, KATI - University Of Eastern Finland

Submitted to: Metabolites
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/27/2021
Publication Date: 1/7/2022
Citation: Babu, A.F., Koistinen, V.M., Turunen, S., Solano-Aguilar, G., Urban, Jr. J.F., Zarei, I., Hanhineva, K. 2022. Identification and distribution of sterols, bile acids, and acylcarnitines by LC-MS/MS in humans, mice, and pigs -- a qualitative analysis. Metabolites. 12(1):49. https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12010049.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo12010049

Interpretive Summary: Sterols, bile acids, and acylcarnitines are key players in human metabolism. Precise annotations of these metabolites with mass spectrometry analytics are challenging because of the presence of several isomers and stereoisomers, variability in ionization, and their relatively low concentrations in biological samples. Herein, we present a sensitive and simple qualitative LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry) method by utilizing a set of pure chemical standards to facilitate the identification and distribution of sterols, bile acids, and acylcarnitines in biological samples including human stool and plasma; mice ileum, cecum, jejunum content, duodenum content, and liver; and pig bile, proximal colon, cecum, heart, stool, and liver. With this method, we detected 24 sterol, 32 bile acid, and 27 acylcarnitine standards in one analysis that were separated within 13 minutes by reversed-phase chromatography. Further, we observed different sterol, bile acid, and acylcarnitine profiles for the different biological samples across the different species. The simultaneous detection and annotation of sterols, bile acids, and acylcarnitines from reference standards and biological samples with high precision represents a valuable tool for screening these metabolites in routine scientific research.

Technical Abstract: Sterols, bile acids, and acylcarnitines are key players in human metabolism. Precise annotations of these metabolites with mass spectrometry analytics are challenging owing to the occurrence of several isomers and stereoisomers, variability in ionization, and their relatively low concentrations in biological samples. Herein, we present a sensitive and simple qualitative LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry) method by utilizing a set of pure chemical standards to detect the presence and distribution of sterols, bile acids, and acylcarnitines in biological samples including human stool and plasma; mice ileum, cecum, jejunum content, duodenum content, and liver; and pig bile, proximal colon, cecum, heart, stool, and liver. With this method, we could detect 24 sterol, 32 bile acid, and 27 acylcarnitine standards in one analysis, as they were separated within 13 minutes in reversed-phase chromatography. Further, we could observe different sterol, bile acid, and acylcarnitine profiles for the different biological samples across the different species. The simultaneous detection of sterols, bile acids, and acylcarnitines from reference standards and biological samples allows us to annotate them with high precision in the biological samples and represents a valuable tool for screening these metabolites in routine scientific research.