Optimization of extraction conditions and determination of purine content in marine fish during boiling

Gout is the second most common metabolic disease affecting human health. The disease of gout is closely related to the level of uric acid, which is the end-product of human purine metabolism. Moreover, food is the main way of external ingestion of purine.

A simple and time-saving method was developed to extract purines like adenine, hypoxanthine, guanine, and xanthine from marine fish by single factor design combined with Box-Behnken. The contents of these purines in the edible parts and internal organs of marine fish, as well as Scophthalmus maximus, were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography to investigate the relationship between the boiling process and purine content.

The mixed-acid method was chosen for the extraction of purine bases and the extraction conditions were as follows: mixture acid 90.00% TFA/80.00% FA (v/v, 1:1); hydrolysis temperature 90.00 °C; time 10.00 min; liquid-to-solid ratio 30:1. The total purine content of the edible parts (eyes, dorsal muscles, abdominal muscles, and skin) was the highest in Scophthalmus maximus, followed by sphyraena, Sardinella, Trichiurus lepturus, Scomberomorus niphonius, Pleuronectiformes, Sea catfish, Anguillidae, and Rajiformes. Moreover, boiling significantly reduced the purine content in the marine fish because of the transfer of the purines to the cooking liquid during boiling. Scophthalmus maximus, Sphyraena, and Sardinella were regard as high-purine marine fish, which we should eat less. We also confirmed that boiling significantly transferred purine bases from fish to cooking liquid. Thus, boiling could reduce the purine content of fish, thereby reducing the risk of hyperuricemia and gout.