Non-destructive egg breed separation using advanced VOC analytical techniques HSSE-GC-MS, PTR-TOF-MS, and SIFT-MS:...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Agricultural Science
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in eggs provide insights into freshness, fertility, cracks, embryo sex, and breed.
• Advanced analytical techniques are crucial for examining these VOCs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess three mass spectrometry-based systems for analyzing VOCs in hatching eggs.
• To identify VOCs that distinguish between three distinct breeds irrespective of incubation day.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated headspace sorptive extraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HSSE-GC-MS), proton transfer reaction time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (PTR-TOF-MS), and selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS).
• Analyzed intact hatching eggs from Dekalb white layer, Shaver brown layer, and Ross 308 broiler breeds on incubation days 2 and 8.
• Utilized Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) for breed differentiation and variable selection.

Main Results:

• Identified 111 VOCs using HSSE-GC-MS, with alcohols and esters being most abundant.
• PLS-DA models showed high breed discrimination efficacy: HSSE-GC-MS (95.5% accuracy) and PTR-TOF-MS (95.5% accuracy).
• Observed complementarity between HSSE-GC-MS (higher molecular weight VOCs) and PTR-TOF-MS/SIFT-MS, with PTR-TOF-MS showing better quantification correlation.

Conclusions:

• VOC analysis systems can non-destructively identify breed-specific differences in hatching eggs.
• The study highlights the potential for VOC analysis in quality control and revealing biological information or management practice variations.
• PTR-TOF-MS demonstrated strong potential for quantifying specific VOCs identified by HSSE-GC-MS.