Traditional fatty acid analysis of fats and oils is a complex enough procedure that it is not suitable for use in laboratory experiments used for introductory food chemistry coursework. We have taken the old standard method of transesterification to methyl esters and developed a simplified method in which 1 mL of the fat or oil is refluxed with 2 mL of methanol and 1 mL of toluene plus a drop of sulfuric acid for one hour in a V-vial equipped with a magnetic stir vane and a short reflux tube. Multiple vials may be easily refluxed within a heater block. Cooling after an hour of reaction will produce two layers; the upper layer may be removed by Pasteur pipet and directly used for GCMS analysis. With a suitable search library on the instrument, the individual fatty acids may be quickly identified and an estimate of their relative presence determined.

Improved method of lipid fatty acid analysis suitable for food science laboratory experiments

246th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.