Detection and Differentiation of Bovine and Porcine Gelatins in Food and Pharmaceutical Products By LC/MS/MS Method

Introduction

Gelatin is a mixture of polypeptides derived from hydrolysis of collagens of animal origins and has been widely utilized in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Commercial gelatins are often manufactured from bovine and porcine materials (skin, bone and hide etc.) because of the practicability and cost-effectiveness. However, general approval of animal-based gelatin is restricted due to incongruity with several religious customs and individual dietary preference which require the gelatin to be free from porcine, bovine or any animals-by- products. Furthermore, there is a concern of animal-based gelatin could be a media for zoonotic disease risks. Accurate food authentication and labelling are requisite for consumers’ assurance towards the products. As a part of application news series to support Halal authentication testing method based upon targeted proteomic approach, a practical method by using sensitive LC/MS/MS was developed to pinpoint species-specific peptide markers for most widely used gelatins, bovine and porcine, as well as to determine gelatin source in commercial food and pharmaceutical products. The specificity of more than 40 signature peptides as marker candidates was tested using in-house gelatin references due to the similarity in their sequences and properties. The established LC/MS/MS method was proven to be a robust approach for source authentication of gelatin of processed food and pharmaceutical capsules.

December 1, 2017 GMT