Comparative lipidomics profiling of donkey milk with cow and human milk by UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry

Abstract Donkey milk (DM), similar to human milk (HM) in compositions, has been suggested as the best potential hypoallergenic replacement diet for babies suffering from cow milk (CM) protein allergens. Lipids have important biological functions in energy storage, as structural components of cell membranes and signalling molecules. In this study, lipidomics profiling of DM,HM and CM were compared using UHPLC-Q-Exactive orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). We found that DM showed some differences in composition of phospholipid (PL), carbon number (CN) and unsaturation of triglycerides (TG) compared with HM and CM. In addition, 87 significantly different lipids (SDLs) were found between DM and HM, and 77 SDLs between DM and CM and these SDLs were involved in 21 metabolic pathways. These results provide insights into lipid composition of three types of milk, lipid biosynthesis and metabolic processes and may have important guiding significance for the research and development of infant formula milk powder or other milk products.