Novel, major 2α- and 2β-hydroxy bile alcohols and bile acids in the bile of Arapaima gigas, a large South American river fish

• Three 2α- and 2β-hydroxy 5α- and 5β-bile alcohols were isolated from the arapaima.
• Three 2α- and 2β-hydroxy 5α- and 5β-bile acids were isolated from the arapaima.
• Their structures were identified by LC–MS and NMR.

Bile alcohols and bile acids from gallbladder bile of the Arapaima gigas, a large South American freshwater fish, were isolated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The structures of the major isolated compounds were determined by electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance using 1H- and 13C-NMR spectra. The novel bile salts identified were six variants of 2-hydroxy bile acids and bile alcohols in the 5α- and 5β-series, with 29% of all compounds having hydroxylation at C-2. Three C27 bile alcohols were present (as ester sulfates): (24ξ,25ξ)-5α-cholestan-2α,3α,7α,12α,24,26-hexol; (25ξ)-5β-cholestan-2β,3α,7α,12α,26,27-hexol, and (25ξ)-5α-cholestan-2α,3α,7α,12α,26,27-hexol. A single C27 bile acid was identified: (25ξ)-2α,3α,7α,12α-tetrahydroxy-5α-cholestan-26-oic acid, present as its taurine conjugate. Two novel C24 bile acids were identified: the 2α-hydroxy derivative of allochenodeoxycholic acid and the 2β-hydroxy derivative of cholic acid, both occurring as taurine conjugates. These studies extend previous work in establishing the natural occurrence of novel 2α- and 2β-hydroxy-C24 and C27 bile acids as well as C27 bile alcohols in both the normal (5β) as well as the (5α) “allo” A/B-ring juncture. The bile salt profile of A. gigas appears to be unique among vertebrates.

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