Chromatographia

, Volume 70, Issue 3–4, pp 629–636 | Cite as

Optimization of Fatty Acid Determination in Selected Fish and Microalgal Oils

  • Roberto E. Armenta
  • Spencer D. Scott
  • Adam M. Burja
  • Helia Radianingtyas
  • Colin J. Barrow
Full Short Communication
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Abstract

The use of ten fatty acid methyl ester reference standards coupled with a detailed quantification method was shown to significantly optimize the fatty acid determination of selected fish and microalgal oils when compared to methods that use only one reference standard (C19:0 or C23:0) as a relative response factor. When using the mixture of ten reference standards after transesterifying oils with NaOH/BF3, determination of total fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid improved by an average of 7.3, 11.5 and 8.4%, respectively. Furthermore, improvements of 13.9, 18.9 and 6.8% of total fatty acids, EPA and DHA, respectively, were obtained when using the mixture of reference standards for fatty acid determination after directly extracting and transesterifying oil contained in microalgal cells with a mixture of methanol, HCl and chloroform. Fatty acid methyl ester standards dissolved in isooctane showed <5% variability throughout 130 days of stability testing when stored at −20 °C. The optimized method can be used for improving the quantification of fatty acids in both oils (fish and microalgal oils) and dry microalgal cells.

Keywords

Gas–liquid chromatography Fatty acid methyl esters Polyunsaturated fatty acids Omega-3 fatty acids Microalgal oil Fish oil 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge partial funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (Atlantic Innovation Fund).

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Copyright information

© Vieweg+Teubner | GWV Fachverlage GmbH 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Roberto E. Armenta
    • 1
  • Spencer D. Scott
    • 1
  • Adam M. Burja
    • 1
    • 2
  • Helia Radianingtyas
    • 1
    • 2
  • Colin J. Barrow
    • 1
    • 3
  1. 1.Ocean Nutrition CanadaDartmouthCanada
  2. 2.Codexis Inc.Redwood CityUSA
  3. 3.School of Life and Environmental SciencesDeakin UniversityGeelongAustralia

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