title: The application of compound-specific isotope analysis of fatty acids for traceability of sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus) in the coastal areas of China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Geographical origin traceability is an important issue for controlling the quality of seafood and safeguarding the interest of consumers. In the present study, a new method of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of fatty acids was established to evaluate its applicability in establishing the origin traceability of Apostichopus japonicus in the coastal areas of China. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant analysis (DA) were applied to distinguish between the origins of A. japonicus.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that the stable carbon isotope compositions of fatty acids of A. japonicus significantly differ in terms of both season and origin. They also indicate that the stable carbon isotope composition of fatty acids could effectively discriminate between the origins of A. japonicus, except for between Changhai Island and Zhangzi Island in the spring of 2016 because of geographical proximity or the similarity of food sources. The fatty acids that have the highest contribution to identifying the geographical origins of A. japonicus are C22:6n-3, C16:1n-7, C20:5n-3, C18:0 and C23:1n-9, when considering the fatty acid contents, the stable carbon isotope composition of fatty acids and the results of the PCA and DA.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that CSIA of fatty acids, combined with multivariate statistical analysis such as PCA and DA, may be an effective tool for establishing the traceability of A. japonicus in the coastal areas of China. The relevant conclusions of the present study provide a new method for determining the traceability of seafood or other food products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Xufeng
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7908-1645
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Navigation College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Navigation College, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Haixia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D017747:Seafood / Q000032:analysis*; D047528:Stichopus / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D005227:Fatty Acids; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes
keywords: CSIA; GC-C-IRMS; authentication; food quality; geographical origin; seadood