Enhancing clinical detection of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in pregnancy: a robust LC-MS/MS methodology

Omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are indispensable for human health. Notably, imbalanced levels of maternal PUFAs during pregnancy can exert lasting impacts on the developing fetus. There is an urgent need for a robust and rapid method that can simultaneously quantify multiple n-3 and n-6 PUFAs in plasma and adapt to large-scale clinical screening.

Sample preparative process consisted of non-derivatized alkali hydrolyzing and liquid-liquid extraction followed by reconstituting after being blown dry with nitrogen, and the total chromatographic run time was only 5.6 min.

The LC-MS/MS method was validated according to current national and international guidelines. Acceptable reproducibility and accuracy were shown based on the intra-day precision was 1.79%-7.02%, the inter-day precision was 0.01%-5.63%, and the accuracy was 87.42%-102.78%. The correlation coefficients of linearity were >0.9930. All measured plasma individual PUFAs levels in pregnant women significantly increased, apart from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5n3) and n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio levels decreased were observed. The analysis performance is satisfactory and suitable for clinical routine detection.

This method could be a valuable tool for 10 kinds of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs nutritional assessment, supplementary guidance, and intervention during pregnancy.