Uronic acid-containing polysaccharides (UACPs) including well-known glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and some non-GAGs exist widely in animal kingdom. Although numerous methods have been established to analyze GAGs, few methods are available for non-GAG UACPs. In the present study, a protocol to identify all kinds of UACPs with repeating disaccharide units of hexosamine and uronic acid was demonstrated, and UACP components in five shellfishes, namely Turritella fortilirata Sowerby (GTF), Batillaria zonalis (GBZ), Nassarius variciferus (GNV), Monodonta labio Linnaeus (GML), and Argopecten irradians Lamarck (BAI) were primarily revealed. After a simple isolation procedure, crude polysaccharides were depolymerized by controlled acid hydrolysis, and then the resulting oligosaccharides were detected by HPLC coupled with mass spectrometer after 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP) labeling. According to chromatograms using the triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, chondroitin sulfate (CS) was found in GNV and GML, a non-GAG named abalone gonad sulfated polysaccharide (AGSP) with a backbone of →4)-β-GlcA-(1 → 2)-α-Man-(1→ repeating units in GBZ, and both of AGSP and CS in BAI and GTF. Further characterization of tetrasaccharides and sulfated/acetylated disaccharides by HPLC combined with an ion trap mass spectrometer confirmed the structural identification of CS and AGSP, and indicated CS in GTF and BAI was Type C. These results suggest the 5 mollusks as potential resources for CS and AGSP. And the analysis protocol presented in this study was powerful and effective for quick characterization of UACPs including GAGs as well as non-GAGs in complicated matrix.
Keywords: Chondroitin sulfate (PubChem CID: 24766); Disaccharide; Glycosaminoglycan; Heparin (PubChem CID: 25244225); Hyaluronic acid (PubChem CID: 3084049); Mass spectrometry; Oligosaccharide; Trifluoroacetic acid (PubChem CID: 6422); Uronic acid-containing polysaccharide.
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