Lipid profiles of Chinese soft-shell turtle eggs (Pelodiscus sinensis)

Studies have shown potential beneficial functions of turtle eggs, but the mechanism is not clear. The species and content of lipids have a significant impact on human health. The major lipid classes and fatty acids composition of dried Chinese soft-shell turtle eggs were characterized with the aim of clarifying the potential beneficial functions of turtle eggs from the perspective of lipid nutrition. 100 g dried turtle eggs power contained an average of 24.7 g of triacylglycerol (TAG), 1.24 g of phospholipid (PL) and 0.72 g of cholesterol. The striking feature of the lipid composition was the abundant n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, resulting in an excellent n-6/n-3 ratio (1.27) and low atherogenic index (AI) and thrombogenic index (TI) values, which were considered to be a healthier option for the human diet. A total of 85 TAG molecular species and 95 PL molecular species were obtained by lipidomics. Sigma cisC18:1, C18:2n-6 and C18:3n-3 were preferentially esterified at sn-2 position of TAG. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) accounted for more than 90 % of the PL, while no sphingomyelin (SM) was detected. C22:6n-3 and C20:5n-3 were preferentially bound to PE and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) respectively.