Traceability and identification of fish gelatin from seven cyprinid fishes by high performance liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry

The broad application prospect of fish gelatin makes the traceability and identification of fish gelatin imminent. High performance liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) was used to identify fish gelatins in seven commercial cyprinid fishes, namely, black carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, common carp, crucian carp, and Wuchang bream. By comparison with theoretical mammalian collagen (bovine and porcine collagen), the common and unique theoretical peptides were found in the collagen of grass carp, silver carp, and crucian carp, respectively. HPLC-MS/MS results showed that 7 common characteristic peptides were obtained from seven cyprinid fish gelatins. Moreover, 44, 36, and 42 unique characteristic peptides were detected in the gelatins of grass carp, silver carp, and crucian carp, respectively. The combined use of common and unique characteristic peptides could improve the accuracy and authenticity of traceability and identification of fish gelatin in comparison with mammalian gelatin.