Davide Coniglioa, Giovanni Venturaa,b, Cosima D. Calvanoa,b, Adriana Spinellia, Ilario Lositoa,b, Tommaso R.I. Cataldia,b

aDipartimento di Chimica,
bCentro Interdipartimentale SMART di Chimica, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, 70126 Bari, Italy

Tomatoes are the edible berries of the homonymous plant (Solanum lycopersicum). These fruits have captured much interest owing to the health-promoting effects they provided when consumed, whether as fresh or processed into several derivatives [1]. The interest paid in both tomato-based food items and their processing by-products as potential raw materials for crafting supplements suggest that extensive research has been carried out on the occurrence of beneficial phytochemicals [2]. Nevertheless, poor investigation has been conducted on the lipidome of these foodstuffs, although the lipid pool can bear important clues to assess the storage and quality of tomatoes throughout the industrial processing and product distribution steps [3]. 

To point out markers of storage, cooking, and other stressors that might activate enzymes responsible for lipid degradation, hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography coupled with negative-ion-mode electrospray Fourier-transform mass spectrometry (HILIC-ESI(‒)-FTMS) was employed to explore lipid extracts from both raw ripe and canned peeled cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum v. cerasiforme). Major glycerophospholipid classes (namely, phosphatidylglycerols, phosphatidylinositols, phosphatidylethanolamines, and phosphatidylcholines) were identified through both retention time comparison with deuterated standards (DSs) and accurate m/z ratios provided by ESI(‒)-FTMS, alongside targeted tandem MS examination. The addition of DSs also allowed for quantitative analyses showing an increase in lyso-forms in the canned samples compared to the ripe tomatoes. The presence of common acyl residues between mono- and diacyl forms suggested the involvement of phospholipases A1 and A2 upon stressors, which are known to lead to the formation of such aging by-products [4]. Interestingly, lyso derivatives of N-acyl-phosphatidylethanolamines (L-NAPEs) appear to be an exception to this trend as they displayed higher concentrations in ripe samples; it is likely to suppose that the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis L-NAPEs could be degraded or inactivated by harsh industrial processes.

Keywords: Tomatoes, industrial processing, lipidomics, HILIC-ESI-FTMS

References

1. Gerszberg A. et al., Tissue Organ Cult., 120 (2015), pp. 881–902 DOI: 10.1007/s11240-014-0664-4I 

2. Kumar M. et al., Biomed. Pharmacother., 142 (2021), p. 112018 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.112018 

3. Yeo J. et al., Foods, 12 (2023), p. 3177 DOI: 10.3390/foods12173177 

4. Laxalt A. M. et al., Curr. Opin. Plant Biol., 5 (2002), pp. 332–338 DOI: 10.1016/S1369-5266(02)00268-6