Arsenolipids in commercial canned cod liver: An occurrence and distribution study

Arsenolipids (AsL) of the type arsenic‐containing fatty acids (AsFA) and hydrocarbons (AsHC) are known to occur in seafood and their identification is today a challenge due to the need of data for toxicological assessment. The aim of this investigation was to enhance the data concerning AsL in commercial canned cod liver. Therefore, the present study focuses on the quantification and identification of AsL by LC–ICP‐MS combined with ESI‐MS. The molecular structure of 17 AsL was elucidated on the basis of their exact mass and their product ion spectra and two new AsFA tentatively identified. The total arsenic concentration in four different canned cod liver analyzed by ICP‐MS ranged from 2.6 to 5.5 mg As/kg with an extraction recovery of 98%. The AsL detected by RP‐IPC–MS comprise 58–95% of the total arsenic content, indicating that AsL are a major class of arsenic in canned cod liver. Much of the AsL detected in the canned cod liver extracts are, however, not yet identified. Practical applications: The results obtained in the present research show the possibility to apply the current extraction and detection method in different biological samples for the determination of AsL. Additionally, this information can be used for further studies to assess the risk of AsL for consumer health. On the other hand, the MS/MS results could be used for the future identification of AsL without the ICP‐MS detection and thus, low the cost of the analysis. Numerous arsenolipids (AsL) were detected and identified by HPLC hyphenated online with ICP‐MS (element specific detection) and ESI‐Q‐TOF‐MS (molecular structure detection) in commercial canned cod liver. ESI‐MS and ESI‐MS/MS spectra confirmed the proposed molecular structure of two new AsL of the type arsenic‐containing fatty acid identified for the first time in this study.