Tandem Mass Spectrometric Analysis and Cross-Species Comparison of Triacylglycerol Regioisomers in Mammalian Milk - UTU Research Portal

A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Tandem Mass Spectrometric Analysis and Cross-Species Comparison of Triacylglycerol Regioisomers in Mammalian Milk;

Authors: Zhao, Qizhu; Fabritius, Mikael; Kalpio, Marika; Al Sazzad, Md Abdullah; Yang, Baoru

Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)

Publication year: 2026

Journal: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

Volume: 74

Issue: 1

First page : 1410

Last page: 1421

ISSN: 0021-8561

eISSN: 1520-5118

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c08520

Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access

Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel

Web address : https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c08520

Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/508477723

Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY

Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF

Abstract

Milk fats have complex profiles of triacylglycerols (TG) with a significant gap in understanding the species-specific compositions of regioisomers. This study comprehensively analyzed TG regioisomers in milk of eight mammalian species using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and a calculation algorithm. Distinct TG regioisomer profiles were observed across species, shaped by the phylogenetic status and the structure of digestive tracts (ruminants, pseudo-ruminants, and non-ruminants). The ruminants (cow, goat, and sheep) exhibited highly similar milk TG regioisomeric profiles, while the pseudo-ruminant (camel) showed similar profiles to those of the non-ruminants (dog, horse, human, and pig). The non-ruminants showed a sn-2 abundance of palmitic acid in milk TGs; especially dog and pig milk displayed TG regioisomer profiles close to that of human milk. These findings provide novel insights into cross-species variation in lipid metabolism and the nutritional properties of milk fats, supporting product development for food and early life nutrition.

Keywords:

fatty acid, mammalian milk fat, regioisomers, sn-position, tandem mass spectrometry, triacylglycerol

Downloadable publication

This is an electronic reprint of the original article.
This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail. Please cite the original version.

tandem-mass-spectrometric-analysis-and-cross-species-comparison-of-triacylglycerol-regioisomers-in-mammalian-milk.pdf

Funding information in the publication:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Research Council of Finland (Decision No. 356891, Structures and functions of chiral lipids: A stereospecific and multiomics approach), Business Finland (Decision No. 1675/31/2023), the Research Council of Finland’s research infrastructure funding (Decision No. 337980), the European Union-NextGenerationEU instrument funding (RRF) for the FOODNUTRI National Infrastructure Network (Decision No. 345916), the Finland-China Food and Health Network, and the China Scholarship Council.