High throughput method for quantifying androstenone and skatole in adipose tissue from uncastrated male pigs by laser diode thermal desorption-tandem mass spectrometry

The study aims at developing a rapid and robust mass spectrometric method capable of measuring the malodorous boar taint compounds androstenone and skatole in fat samples from male pig carcasses. The developed method is suited for use in commercial abattoirs as an at-line method to detect the presence of these compounds in carcasses or as a high-speed analysis in laboratories with high sample turnover. The chemical assay is based on salt-assisted liquid-liquid extraction and direct measurement with Laser Diode Thermal Desorption-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LDTD-MS/MS). When fully automated as an at-line method, a single LDTD-MS/MS system will have a measuring capacity of >420 male pig carcasses per hour. The limit of quantification (LOQ) is 0.05 µg/g and 0.10 µg/g for skatole and androstenone, respectively, which is well below the expected sorting thresholds. The reproducibility of the method (%RSD) meets the industry requirement for an RSD of below 10%.