Ten rabbit-specific tryptic peptide markers and one marker peptide specific to both rabbit and hare were evaluated for
mass signal linearity in binary meat mixtures using liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrom-
etry. Seven meat mixtures containing chicken and varying percentages of rabbit (1%, 5%, 10%, 30%, 60%, 90%, and 100%)
were analyzed. Additionally, the signal linearity of twelve peptide markers for chicken meat was examined. The best
candidate peptides for the quantification of meat content were selected. Five of eleven peptides for rabbit meat and five
of twelve peptides for chicken meat showed good linearity (R2 > 0.97). The limits of detection and limits of quantifi-
cation for these markers were in the range of 0.43e1.91% [w/w] and 1.44e6.38% [w/w], respectively. The method allowed
determination of the percentage content of rabbit and chicken meat in two- and three-component meat mixtures with
good accuracy. The preliminary quantification data provide a starting point for developing label-free and absolute
quantification methods for rabbit and chicken meat using multiple reaction monitoring of peptide markers.