Application of an Improved Chloroform-Free Lipid Extraction Method to Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis) Lipidomics Assessments

Lipids are excellent biomarkers for assessing coral stress, although staghorn coral data (Acropora cervicornis) is lacking. Lipid extraction is the most critical step in lipidomic assessments, usually performed using carcinogenic solvents. Efficient alternative using less toxic methods, such as the BUME method using butanol and methanol as extraction solvents, have not been applied to coral lipidomics evaluations. Thus, we aimed to develop a lipidomic approach to identify important coral health biomarkers by comparing different solvent mixtures in staghorn corals. Total lipid extraction was equivalent for both tested methods, but due to its efficiency in extracting polar lipids, the BUME method was chosen. It was then applied to different coral masses (0.33-1.00 g), resulting in non-significant differences concerning number of lipid classes and compounds. Therefore, this method can be successfully applied to coral assessments in a climate change context, with the added benefit of low sample masses, lessening coral sampling impacts.

Fatty Acid Composition of the Lipids from Atlantic Salmon-Comparison of Two Extraction Methods without Halogenated Solvents

The scope of this paper was to apply two recently developed methods for lipid extraction: the methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) method and the BUME method. These two methods do not include halogenated solvents, which makes them less hazardous to the environment, less toxic, and needed in less volume compared to the standard methods for lipid extraction. Fatty acid composition of the lipids from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar Linnæus, 1758) was obtained by both procedures. The methods were effective and thirty-three fatty acids were identified. The amounts of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids obtained by the MTBE method were found to be similar to the overall mean values observed in farmed salmon. The yield of the total lipids obtained by the BUME method was 13% lower. Although the methods involved different solvents, they showed similar fatty acids profile of the lipids from Atlantic salmon. Both methods were validated and some practical challenges were discussed.