title: Comprehensive profiling of carotenoids and fat-soluble vitamins in milk from different animal species by LC-DAD-MS/MS hyphenation.
abstract: This paper describes a novel and efficient analytical method to define the profile of fat-soluble micronutrients in milk from different animal species. Overnight cold saponification was optimized as a simultaneous extraction procedure. Analytes were separated by nonaqueous reversed-phase (NARP) chromatography: carotenoids on a C(30) column and fat-soluble vitamins on a tandem C(18) column system. Besides 12 target analytes for which standards are available (all-trans-lutein, all-trans-zeaxanthin, all-trans-β-cryptoxanthin, all-trans-β-carotene, all-trans-retinol, α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol, ergocalciferol, cholecalciferol, phylloquinone, and menaquinone-4), the DAD-MS combined detection allowed the provisional identification of other carotenoids on the basis of the expected retention times, the absorbance spectra, and the mass spectrometric data. Retinol and α-tocopherol were the most abundant fat-soluble micronutrients and the only ones found in donkey's milk along with γ-tocopherol. Ewe's milk also proved to be a good source of vitamin K vitamers. Bovine milk showed a large variety of carotenoids that were absent in milk samples from other species with the only exception of all-trans-lutein and all-trans-zeaxanthin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematical, Physical and Natural Science, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. alessandra.gentili@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gentili
authors.forename: Fulvia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caretti
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bellante
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Canepari
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Curini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis*; D002417:Cattle; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D018397:Equidae; D005223:Fats / Q000032:analysis; D006041:Goats; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry; D012756:Sheep; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D005223:Fats; D014815:Vitamins; D002338:Carotenoids