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Updated: May 12, 2026

Determination of Total Lipid and Lipid Classes in Marine Samples
Published on: December 11, 2021
The high diversity of arsenolipids in herring fillet (Clupea harengus)
S Lischka1, U Arroyo-Abad, J Mattusch
1BAM-Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Department of Analytical Chemistry; Reference Materials, Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
Arsenolipids represent a relevant step in the biosynthesis of organoarsenicals from inorganic arsenic compounds. Their fate after human consumption is still uncertain. By means of a HPLC-ICP-MS/ESI-Q-TOF-MS method, 16 lipid soluble arsenic compounds, including seven formerly unknown organoarsenicals, have been identified in commercial herring fillet. The structural assignment was done by exact mass and high resolution MS/MS data. This is the first identification of arsenolipids in herring (Clupea harengus). They contribute with (3.6±0.2) mg kg(-1) arsenic to 62.3% of the total arsenic content of (5.7±0.3) mg of arsenic per kg dry mass. Current studies indicate that a metabolization by humans to cancerous dimethylarsinic acid is very likely. The presented results are highly relevant as herring is a very popular food fish species in Europe. Moreover, the screening of different fish species revealed that arsenolipids are more widespread than previously assumed.
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