Protein and amino acid profiles in natural and artificial shark fins using capillary electrophoresis

The potential utility of capillary electrophoresis (CE) for differentiation between natural and artificial shark fins was established. Three major protein components (peaks I-III) of shark fins were well-separated and used as parameters for differentiation between natural and artificial shark fins. The height ratio of protein peak II to protein peak I was higher in natural shark fins than that in artificial products. Further, the profile of amino acids in natural dried shark fins was somewhat different from that in artificial samples. The level of tyrosine was especially high (5.11-8.11%) in natural dried shark fins, but low or not detectable (0-0.22%) in artificial samples.