Cut-Specific Phospholipid Content and Distribution in Commonly Consumed Beef and Pork in Korea

This study investigated the phospholipid composition of 10 beef and four pork cuts commonly consumed in Korea using a validated HPLC-ELSD (high performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detector) method.The analytical technique exhibited exceptional linearity (R 2 =0.9972-1.0000),with limits of detection and quantification ranging from 7.2 to 14.6 mg/100 g and 10.5 to 18.1 mg/100 g, respectively.Specificity evaluation confirmed that all major phospholipids achieved adequate chromatographic resolution (1.5; phosphatidylethanolamine-phosphatidylcholine (PC): 3.07, PC-sphingomyelin: 4.85, phosphatidylserine-lysophosphatidylethanolamine: 2.03), ensuring precise quantification of individual components.Precision was validated using infant formula as an in-house quality control material, which yielded repeatability and reproducibility relative standard deviation values of 2.33%-5.68%and 1.66%-5.18%,respectively.The QC charts established with black soybean powder further corroborated the stable phospholipid levels within control limits.The total phospholipid contents in beef ranged from 32.00 to 716.70 mg/100 g, with cooking processes leading to up to 3.5-fold increases, particularly in the phosphatidylcholine levels.In pork, the total phospholipids varied from 297.83 to 804.88 mg/100 g, and the proportion of phosphatidylcholine rose from 64.35% in raw loin to 70.74% post-cooking.These findings contribute a robust dataset on the phospholipid composition of beef and pork, facilitating the development of a comprehensive phospholipid database for commonly consumed meats and providing valuable insights for nutritional and functional food research.