Study on the Performance of Three Different Capillary Gas Chromatographic Analyses in the Evaluation of Milk Fat Purity

The adulteration of milk fat with foreign fat has been and still is a major concern in the dairy industry. Milk fat purity is currently evaluated by triglyceride analysis by using the Official EU method. The detection limit of the various vegetable and animal fats ranges between 4 and 6%. This research was carried out to verify whether it is possible to decrease the detection limits of beef tallow, which is the most widely used adulterating animal fat. For this purpose, determinations of diglycerides and 3,5-cholestadiene, together with the Official EU method, were applied both to several samples of pure milk fat and to mixtures of milk fat with different percentages of beef tallow. The best results were obtained combining the data deriving from the three determinations by multivariate statistical techniques; in particular, the statistical model obtained by the UNEQ technique seems to be able to decrease the detection limit of beef tallow from 5.2 to 2%. The diglyceride and 3,5-cholestadiene evaluation, combined with the Official EU method for triglycerides, can be usefully applied both to detect small additions of beef tallow and to demonstrate the adulteration of milk fat samples showing results close to the detection limit of the official method.     

Characterization of a lipid-rich fraction synthesized by Streptomyces avermitilis

Isolation of the macrocyclic lactone parasiticide avermectin and other closely related natural products produced by Streptomyces avermitilis also yields a lipid-rich fraction. The latter has been characterized by techniques based on gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and mass spectrometry (MS). Initial examination of the lipid-rich fraction by direct probe electron-impact (EI) MS and packed-column GLC showed that it consists primarily of a mixture of triglycerides possessing C14-C17 acyl groups. Further examination of this fraction by capillary column GLC-MS demonstrated that it contains low levels of C15-C17 free fatty acids, squalene and diglycerides and, as the major components, at least ten mixed acyl triglycerides (total number of acyl carbon atoms ranging from 43 to 50). Prominent among the triglycerides were a C15-C15-C16 species, a C15-C16-C16 species and a C15-C16-C17 species. Capillary-column GLC and GLC-MS of the fatty acid methyl esters resulting from transesterification demonstrated that the major triglyceride acyl groups are anteiso-C15 (12-methyltetradecanoyl), iso-C16 (14-methylpentadecanoyl), n-C16 (hexa-decanoyl) and anteiso-C17 (14-methylhexadecanoyl). Lower levels of the methyl esters of the following fatty acids were observed: iso-C14 (12-methyltridecanoic), n-C14 (tetradecanoic), iso-C15 (13-methyltetradecanoic), n-C15 (pentadecanoic), iso-C17 (15-methylhexadecanoic) and n-C17 (heptadecanoic). Little evidence was seen for either unsaturated acyl groups or acyl groups of less than 13 or more than 18 carbon atoms. Desorption chemical ionization MS (ammonia reagent gas) analysis confirmed the nature of the lipid-rich fraction, and is an attractive one-step approach for determining the molecular weights and distribution of triglycerides in a mixture.     

Thermal analysis of lipids isolated from various tissues of sheep fats

The physical–chemical properties and fatty acid composition of sheep subcutaneous, tallow, intestinal, and tail fats were determined. Sheep fat types contained C_16:0, C_18:0, and C_18:1 as the major components of fatty acid composition (19.56–23.40, 20.77–29.50, 32.07–38.30%, respectively). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) study revealed that two characteristic peaks were detected in both crystallization and melting curves. Major peaks (T _peak) of tallow and intestinal fats were similar and determined as 31.25–24.69 and 7.44–3.90 °C, respectively, for crystallization peaks and 15.36–13.44 and 45.98–44.60 °C, respectively, for melting peaks in DSC curves; but those of tail fat (18.29 and −2.13 °C for crystallization peaks and 6.56 and 33.46 °C for melting peaks) differed remarkably from those of other fat types.     

Quantification of primary fatty acid amides in commercial tallow and tallow fatty acid methyl esters by HPLC-APCI-MS

Primary fatty acid amides are a group of biologically highly active compounds which were already identified in nature. Here, these substances were determined in tallow and tallow fatty acid methyl esters for the first time. As tallow is growing in importance as an oleochemical feedstock for the soap manufacturing, the surfactant as well as the biodiesel industry, the amounts of primary fatty acid amides have to be considered. As these compounds are insoluble in tallow as well as in the corresponding product e.g. tallow fatty acid methyl esters, filter plugging can occur. For the quantification in these matrices a purification step and a LC-APCI-MS method were developed. Although quantification of these compounds can be performed by GC-MS, the presented approach omitted any derivatization and increased the sensitivity by two orders of magnitude. Internal standard calibration using heptadecanoic acid amide and validation of the method yielded a limit of detection of 18.5 fmol and recoveries for the tallow and fatty acid methyl ester matrices of 93% and 95%, respectively. A group of commercially available samples were investigated for their content of fatty acid amides resulting in an amount of up to 0.54%m/m (g per 100 g) in tallow and up to 0.16%m/m (g per 100 g) in fatty acid methyl esters.     

银离子固相萃取-气相色谱法检测乳脂肪中的反式脂肪酸

建立了分离反式油酸(C18:1)、亚油酸(C18:2)、亚麻酸(C18:3)的银离子固相萃取-气相色谱(Ag+-SPE/GC)方法,并应用于乳脂肪中反式脂肪酸的检测。采用自制的银离子固相萃取柱对样品进行预分离,总脂肪酸甲酯化后上样,依次经9 mL甲苯-正己烷(体积比5:95)、8 mL甲苯-正己烷(体积比17:83)、6 mL甲苯-乙酸乙酯(体积比17:83)、10 mL甲苯-乙酸乙酯(体积比30:70)洗脱并分别收集洗脱液,采用气相色谱分别进行检测。结果显示,除了反式亚麻酸的回收率为69.9%～101.0%、相对标准偏差(RSD)为11.0%～18.1%外,其余的反式脂肪酸的回收率均为88.4%～107.2%、RSD为1.2%～11.9%。该方法通过特异性固相萃取的方法对样品进行前处理,较好地避免了样品中顺式及饱和脂肪酸对反式脂肪酸检测的干扰。     

New N-acylamino acids and derivatives from renewable fatty acids: gelation of hydrocarbons and thermal properties

This work reports the synthesis of new fatty N-acylamino acids and N-acylamino esters from the C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, and C18:1(OH) fatty acid families and demonstrates the activity of these compounds as organogel agents. Compounds were heated and dissolved in various solvents (n-hexane, toluene, and gasoline). Only saturated C16:0 and C18:0 derived from alanine were able to form gels in toluene, and saturated C16:0 derived from phenylalanine showed gelation in n-hexane. This is the first evidence that fatty N-acylamino esters and N-acylamino acid derivatives of l-serine and fatty acids C16:0, C18:0, and C18:1 are able to form gels with hexane. This observation confirms the importance of the hydroxyl group in the segment derivative of l-serine in forming good gels.     

Profiling of esterified fatty acids as biomarkers in the blood of dengue fever patients using a microliter‐scale extraction followed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry

An improved gas chromatography with mass spectrometry procedure was developed to highlight the esterified fatty acids in 100 μL blood of dengue fever patients in the early febrile phase versus healthy volunteers. 24 adult patients and 24 healthy volunteers were included in this study. The recoveries of targeted esterified fatty acids content were in the range of 92.10–101.00% using methanol/dichloromethane (2:1, v/v) as the extraction solvent. An efficient chromatographic separation of targeted 17 esterified fatty acid methyl esters was obtained. The limits of detection and quantification were within the range of 16–131 and 53–430 ng/mL, respectively. The relative standard deviation of intraday and interday precision values ranged from 0.4 to 5.0%. The statistical data treatment showed a significant decrease of the content of four saturated fatty acids, C14:0, C15:0, C16:0, and C18:0 (P value < 0.05), and also showed a decrease of the content of eight unsaturated fatty acids, C16:1, C18:3n6, C18:2n6, C18:1n9, C20:3n3, C20:4n6, C20:2, and C22:6n3 (P value < 0.05) in dengue fever patients. Moreover, the amount of three omega‐6 fatty acids including C18:3n6, C18:2n6, and C20:4n6 was dramatically decreased in the blood of dengue fever patients to a limit of 50 ± 10%.     

Utilisation of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography as an alternative to silver-ion chromatography for the separation of cis- and trans-C18:1 fatty acid isomers

Silver ion-high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been commonly used for the separation and the analysis of trans-18:1 isomers in partially hydrogenated oils and milk fat. This paper describes an easy HPLC method using two reversed-phase columns. The cis- and trans-18:1 fatty acids isomers as methyl esters were eluted as two separate fractions. The collected fractions were analysed by gas chromatography (GC). The purity of the two fractions were tested by GC-MS and GC-Fourier transform IR.     

Gas chromatographic analysis of free fatty acids and glycerides of milk fat using tetramethylammonium hydroxide as catalyste

Summary Tetramethylammonium hydroxide in methanol has been proposed as a catalyst for preparing methyl esters of both free fatty acids and glycerides of fats. Nevertheless, procedures normally recognized as suitable can be inadequate when the fat under study contains noticeable amounts of low relative molecular mass esters. The method using tetramethylammonium hydroxide has been examined and modified in order to analyze milk fats by capillary GC. The pyrolysis methylation of free fatty acids in capillary injectors has been also studied. The modified method was satisfactory for both neutral and acid milk fats.     

Supercritical fluid chromatography of fish,shark and seal oils

Summary Various natural and treated fish, shark liver and seal oils have been analyzed by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) using a non-polar capillary column. The lipids are separated according to molecular mass. The lipid groups found included free fatty acids, cholesterol, squalene, vitamins, wax esters, cholesterol esters, diglycerides, triglycerides and ether lipids. Methods for the analysis of the marine oils depend on components present in the oil. When co-eluting lipid groups were present, modifications such as hydrogenation or TLC fractionation of the oils had to be made. In this paper applications of SFC on fish, seal and shark liver oils are presented.     

The Application of GC–MS and Chemometrics to Categorize the Feeding Regime of Iberian Pigs in Spain

GC–MS and chemometric analysis of subcutaneous fat has been studied to classify three different feeding regimes of Iberian pigs. Nineteen fatty acids present in 57 fat samples were identified and quantified. Principal component analysis was employed for the preliminary study of the data structure. Discriminant analysis was used to classify samples into the three categories on the basis of the fatty acid profiles. Using a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure, only one fat sample from a pig fed with commercial feed, which simulated the fatty acid profile from free range animals, was incorrectly classified as having been fed on acorns and pasture. Using external validation, all of the samples were correctly classified. The most decisive fatty acids for distinguishing between groups, when using discriminant analysis were C16:1, C18:1, C17:0 and C18:0 for the first discriminant function, and C18:3, C14:0, C15:0, C22:0, C16:1 and C22:1 for the second discriminant function, ordered from the highest to the lowest coefficient. Some of the fatty acids important in distinguishing between groups are not the ones used by Spanish legislation to classify pigs in the different feeding categories. The results in this paper demonstrate the potential of statistical data treatment in the classification of animal feeding regimes.     

Detailed profiles of 7-O-acyl esters in plankton and shellfish from the Portuguese coast

In bivalve mollusks from the Portuguese coast contaminated by diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP), most of the parent toxins, okadaic acid (OA) or dinophysistoxin-2 (DTX2), are found esterified, and toxicity assessment is only performed after an alkaline hydrolysis step to recover the parent molecules in their free form. The presence of 7-O-acyl esters with fatty acids (FAs) has already been confirmed previously in Mytilus galloprovincialis and Donax trunculus samples. This paper reports the presence of acyl esters in a wider range of estuarine and offshore bivalve species found by direct analysis in LC-MS. The total of acyl esters found in each species represented the percentages commonly found by hydrolysis in those species in previous years, justifying the majority of the esters commonly found in shellfish. This implies that any diol esters remaining after digestion of toxic microalgae would represent only a minor contribution to the ester's contents. Esters with C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C20:5 and C22:6 FAs were the most abundant, followed by esters with C18:0, C18:1, C18:2, C18:3 and C18:4. This is the first report of OA and DTX2 esters with odd FAs: C15:0, C17:0, C17:1, and probably a branched FA: iso-C16:0. Esters with iso-C16:0 where found in high percentages particularly in two species of estuarine clams, where they represented 13-34% of total esters found. Esters were also found in plankton, predominantly with C16:0. Total esters in plankton were not higher than 10%, not enough to justify per se the high levels found in bivalves.     

Gas-liquid chromatographic determination of fatty acid composition of cholesteryl esters in human serum using silica Sep-Pak cartridges

A simple and fast analytical procedure for separation and purification of cholesteryl esters of human serum is described. A single lipid extract, together with spiked cholesteryl pentadecanoate, as an internal standard, was passed through a Silica Sep-Pak cartridge. 1.5% diethyl ester in light petroleum was used to elute cholesteryl esters from the column. The separation was verified with thin-layer chromatography on silica gel using light petroleum-diethyl ether-glacial acetic acid (80:20:1) as a solvent. A very clean thin-layer chromatogram of cholesteryl esters without any additional spots of other lipids was obtained. The cholesteryl esters were quantitated by analyzing their fatty acid composition as methyl esters by gas-liquid chromatography. The coefficients of variation were 0.8--4.9% for the major fatty acids (C16:0, C16:1, C18:1, C18:2, C20:4) and 6.7--30.8% for the minor fatty acids (C18:0 and C20:0). The recoveries for cholesteryl palmitate, cholesteryl oleate and cholesteryl linoleate were 90.7, 92.3 and 91.0%, respectively.     

碱催化法衍生化气相色谱/质谱法分析青海湖裸鲤鱼油中的脂肪酸

用碱催化法将青海湖裸鲤鱼油甲酯化,以气相色谱/质谱法分析鱼油中的脂肪酸。青海湖裸鲤可食用部分中鱼油含量为25.13%。从鱼油中共鉴定出47种脂肪酸,包括直链、单支链、多支链饱和脂肪酸,单不饱和、多不饱和脂肪酸,环丙烷基、呋喃基脂肪酸等。不饱和脂肪酸含量为73.6%,其中多不饱和脂肪酸含量为25.4%,以C18∶2(4.9%),C18∶3(3.1%),C20∶4(1.3%),C20∶5(二十碳五烯酸（EPA）, 9.4%)和C22∶6(二十二碳六烯酸（DHA）, 6.7%)为主。单不饱和脂肪酸含量为48.2%,主要由C16∶1(20.3%),C18∶1(25.9%)构成。饱和脂肪酸含量为25.7%,主要有C14∶0(3.4%),C16∶0 (19.4%)和C18∶0(1.1%)。青海湖裸鲤鱼油中还存在不常见的环丙烷基和呋喃基脂肪酸及多种奇数碳链和支链脂肪酸。因此,青海湖裸鲤是功能性脂肪酸的重要膳食来源。     

Mixed,lipase-catalyzed inter-esterified fats and hemp oil as a fatty base of model emulsion products with different emulsifiers

The aim of the study was to perform modification of fats to obtain new products, which were used as a fatty basis of model emulsions. The second objective was to assess the stability of the prepared emulsions. For this purpose, turkey fat, chicken fat, and mutton tallow were used and enzymatically inter-esterified with hemp oil. Enzymatic interesterification was performed using a selective catalyst – Lipozyme IR RM. The obtained fat mixtures before and after interesterification were assessed by determining their acid value, peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV), polar fraction (PF), and slip melting point (SMP). Later, the fats were used as a fatty basis of emulsions. The variable component in the emulsions was the emulsifier. The emulsions were evaluated for droplet size and viscosity and by the Turbiscan test. It was concluded that the dispersion systems containing mutton tallow and the emulsifier formed during the enzymatic reaction, as well as the one containing the same fat and lecithin, showed the best stability. In the case of emulsions with enzymatically modified mutton tallow, the authors are planning to extend the range of usable properties under examination. In the authors’ opinion, the proposed systems can be used in the cosmetic and food industries.     

FABES and FAPES – transesterification of triglycerides with higher alcohols. Quantitation and mass spectrometric evaluation

In order to facilitate the gas chromatographic determination of butyric as well as other short chain fatty acids, triglycerides containing these fatty acids were transbutylated and transpentylated to give FABES (fatty acid butyl esters) and FAPES (fatty acid pentyl esters), respectively. This method allows the molecular weight of the compounds to be increased while their polarity is decreased. Short chain esters elute sufficiently separated from the solvent; due to the decreased polarity, elution of long chain fatty acids is only slightly retarded compared to the corresponding methyl esters. Quantitative evaluation over a large series of injections proved the linearity of correction factors in both cases, FABES and FAPES, with a slight deviation for 16:0 and 18:0, respectively. Structural characterization was performed by GC/MS. It was shown that there are characterstic fragmentations for FABES as well as for FAPES. The El-mass spectra give structural information about the alcohol and acid moieties, the ester molecule and the Cl-spectra indicate the molecular weight. The absence of abundant highly characteristic peaks in the spectra of these esters makes the detection of FABES or FAPES in complex mixtures more difficult than the detection of FAMES with their very characteristic ions at m/z 74 and 87.     

Characterization of fatty acid esters of okadaic acid and related toxins in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) from Norway

Marine algal toxins of the okadaic acid group can occur as fatty acid esters in blue mussels, and are commonly determined indirectly by transformation to their parent toxins by alkaline hydrolysis. Some data are available regarding the identity of the fatty acid esters, mainly of palmitic acid (16:0) derivatives of okadaic acid (OA), dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1) and dinophysistoxin-2 (DTX2). Other fatty acid derivatives have been described, but with limited mass spectral data. In this paper, the mass spectral characterization of the [M-H](-) and [M+Na](+) ions of 16 fatty acid derivatives of each of OA, DTX1 and DTX2 is presented. The characteristic fragmentation of [M+Na](+) ions of OA analogues provided a useful tool for identifying these, and has not been described previously. In addition, a set of negative ion multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) methods was developed for direct determination of 16 fatty acid esters of OA, 16 fatty acid esters of DTX1 and 16 fatty acid esters of DTX2 in shellfish extracts. The MRM methods were employed to study the profiles of fatty acid esters of OA analogues in blue mussels and to compare these with fatty acid ester profiles reported for other groups of marine algal toxins.     

Determination of phospholipid fatty acid and triacylglycerol composition of rat caecal mucosa.

The lipid composition of rat caecal mucosa, including the fatty acid composition of phospholipids and triacylglycerols, has been examined by capillary gas chromatography. Thirty-seven peaks were resolved, ranging in chain length from 12 to 24 carbon atoms. Preliminary identification of fatty acids by comparison with authentic standards was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using electron-impact ionization. The neutral and polar components were examined. Fatty acid methyl esters were quantified in absolute amounts with respect to the percentage of total phospholipid and triacylglycerols. The results show significantly higher levels of 16:0, 18:0, 18:1(n-9), 18:1(n-7), 18:2(n-6) and 20:4(n-6) in phospholipids, and higher levels of 16:0, 18:1(n-9) and 18:2(n-6) in triacylglycerols. On the other hand, analysis of caecal triacylglycerols revealed sn-glycerol-palmitate-oleate-palmitate, sn-glycerol-palmitate-linoleate-palmitate and sn-glycerol-palmitate-linoleate-oleate as major components.     

Structuring of edible oils by alternatives to crystalline fat

The structure of many food products is based on networks of crystalline triacylglycerol (TAG) hardstock. These contain high levels of saturated fatty acids, which are among the factors contributing to cardiovascular diseases. Therefore it would be desirable to have alternative routes to structure edible oils.This review starts with general structuring concepts and building blocks which can be found in organic solvents. Subsequently it focuses on the field of edible oil structuring. Among the alternative structuring agents that have received attention in recent years are mono- and diglycerides, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, waxes, wax esters, sorbitan esters, and phytosterols. It is found that the most efficient structuring agents form small, preferably non-spherical particles. Mixing of components often provides superior structuring over use of pure components. Straightforward screening of pure components might be feasible. However, the number of options provided by mixing requires guided screening, for which understanding of the underlying mechanisms is essential. Analytical methods helping to characterise oil structuring and elucidate the structuring mechanisms are discussed.     

Ratios between content of fatty acids as markers for mixture of cow and goat milk

The fat of mixture of goat and cow milk, extracted by di-ethylic ether, was gas chromatographically analysed in order to propose an analytical procedure suitable to reveal small additions of cow milk to goat milk. The obtained results show evident differences in the percentages of some fatty acids. An attempt to apply the peak area ratios, corresponding to the methyl esters of fatty acids, suggested by the literature for cow milk did not yield good results. Other ratios suitable to reveal even the presence of low percentages (up to 5 %) of cow milk in goat milk were found and proposed in this paper. Such ratios are sensitive and can be defined markers towards cow or goat milk and also towards extraneous fat like lard or colza seeds oil.