Introduction
Over the last half of the previous century, the use of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (PHVO) replaced the use of animal fats for baking purposes in most western countries. Initially developed for supply/demand and economic reasons, it was discovered that the use of PHVO could increase a food’s shelf-life and/or increase its taste. It was also suggested that the unsaturated fatty acids in PHVO were healthier than the saturated fatty acids in animal fat.
In nature, the overwhelming majority of unsaturated fatty acids occur in the cis orientation. As such, humans evolved metabolic pathways to break down cis fatty acids. However, the process to make PHVO converts cis fatty acids into trans fatty acids. Scientific research over the last decade has shown that this situation (the increased intake of trans fatty acids coupled with our inability to properly metabolize them) can increase the risk of coronary disease. This is most evident by the proliferation of this disease in countries where the use of PHVO has replaced the use of animal fats. To help combat this trend, in June 2015 the US FDA mandated that food manufacturers must eliminate the use of all artificial trans fats (i.e. they can no longer use PHVO) within three years.1
Table 1. Column SpecificationsThe qualitative and quantitative testing of cis/trans fatty acids is best accomplished using gas chromatography (GC) after conversion of the fatty acids to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs). To assist with this testing, Supelco® recently developed two new capillary GC columns. These 200 m versions of SP™-2560 and SLB®-IL111 are specifically designed for and specially tested for the detailed analysis of cis/trans FAME isomers. Specifications for both columns are shown in Table 1. This article will show the suitability of these columns for analysis of cis/trans FAME isomers as well as other FAME isomer applications.
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