Lipidomics of naturally preserved brains from the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia cemetery

Abstract

The preservation of human soft tissue in archaeological contexts is rare, and the natural preservation of brain tissue is even more uncommon. This study examines the lipidomic profiles of naturally preserved brains recovered from the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia (FBCP) cemetery, dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry, we successfully extracted and identified sphingomyelin and phosphatidylcholine species from naturally preserved brain tissues. These findings demonstrate that lipidomic analysis can be applied to archaeological brain tissues, providing insights into neurological health and disease in past populations. The integration of advanced molecular techniques in bioarchaeological research holds significant potential for future studies of ancient diseases, preservation processes and forensic applications.