Simultaneous Determination of 23 <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acids in Common Edible Oils by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

<i>Trans</i> fatty acids (TFAs) pose significant health risks, including cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. However, the lack of high-resolution, high-sensitivity, and high-throughput quantitative methods for TFA analysis has led to fragmented data on TFA content in edible o...

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Main Authors: Yanping Cao, Xia Li, Kun Wang, Xianpeng Wu, Jie Zhang, Fengen Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Separations
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/12/7/171
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author Yanping Cao
Xia Li
Kun Wang
Xianpeng Wu
Jie Zhang
Fengen Wang
author_facet Yanping Cao
Xia Li
Kun Wang
Xianpeng Wu
Jie Zhang
Fengen Wang
author_sort Yanping Cao
collection DOAJ
description <i>Trans</i> fatty acids (TFAs) pose significant health risks, including cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. However, the lack of high-resolution, high-sensitivity, and high-throughput quantitative methods for TFA analysis has led to fragmented data on TFA content in edible oils, which constrains research on the quality assessment of edible oils. In this study, we developed a high-resolution and high-sensitivity gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method to simultaneously determine 23 TFA isomers. The method validation demonstrated good sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, and precision. Based on the proposed method, we analyzed 170 samples of 11 common edible oils, establishing a comprehensive TFA profile for each type. Ruminant fats (beef tallow, mutton tallow, butter) had high TFA levels (0.8–4.8 g/100 g), dominated by vaccenic acid (C18:1 t11) and conjugated linoleic acid, while vegetable oils (soybean, corn, peanut and sesame oil) exhibited lower concentrations (0.5–2.2 g/100 g), especially monounsaturated TFAs. Particularly, soybean oil was rich in C18:3 isomers, while shortening presented the closest similarity to sesame oil. Cluster analysis distinguished oils by TFA composition, highlighting low-TFA clusters (sunflower oil, pork lard, cream). In conclusion, the high-resolution, high-sensitivity, and high-throughput TFA quantification method developed in this study provides technical support for establishing characteristic TFA profiles in edible oils, while offering data support to further quality assessment.
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spelling doaj-art-a4b3b8ec53aa4458935f8b47d5dc9dbf2025-08-20T02:47:10ZengMDPI AGSeparations2297-87392025-06-0112717110.3390/separations12070171Simultaneous Determination of 23 <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acids in Common Edible Oils by Gas Chromatography-Mass SpectrometryYanping Cao0Xia Li1Kun Wang2Xianpeng Wu3Jie Zhang4Fengen Wang5State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, School of Bioengineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, ChinaInstitute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-Products, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, ChinaShandong Quality and Technical Review and Evaluation Center Co., Ltd., Jinan 250013, ChinaShandong Quality and Technical Review and Evaluation Center Co., Ltd., Jinan 250013, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, School of Bioengineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, ChinaInstitute of Quality Standard and Testing Technology for Agro-Products, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China<i>Trans</i> fatty acids (TFAs) pose significant health risks, including cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. However, the lack of high-resolution, high-sensitivity, and high-throughput quantitative methods for TFA analysis has led to fragmented data on TFA content in edible oils, which constrains research on the quality assessment of edible oils. In this study, we developed a high-resolution and high-sensitivity gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method to simultaneously determine 23 TFA isomers. The method validation demonstrated good sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, and precision. Based on the proposed method, we analyzed 170 samples of 11 common edible oils, establishing a comprehensive TFA profile for each type. Ruminant fats (beef tallow, mutton tallow, butter) had high TFA levels (0.8–4.8 g/100 g), dominated by vaccenic acid (C18:1 t11) and conjugated linoleic acid, while vegetable oils (soybean, corn, peanut and sesame oil) exhibited lower concentrations (0.5–2.2 g/100 g), especially monounsaturated TFAs. Particularly, soybean oil was rich in C18:3 isomers, while shortening presented the closest similarity to sesame oil. Cluster analysis distinguished oils by TFA composition, highlighting low-TFA clusters (sunflower oil, pork lard, cream). In conclusion, the high-resolution, high-sensitivity, and high-throughput TFA quantification method developed in this study provides technical support for establishing characteristic TFA profiles in edible oils, while offering data support to further quality assessment.https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/12/7/171simultaneous determinationtrans fatty acidsedible oilsgas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
spellingShingle Yanping Cao
Xia Li
Kun Wang
Xianpeng Wu
Jie Zhang
Fengen Wang
Simultaneous Determination of 23 <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acids in Common Edible Oils by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Separations
simultaneous determination
trans fatty acids
edible oils
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
title Simultaneous Determination of 23 <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acids in Common Edible Oils by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
title_full Simultaneous Determination of 23 <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acids in Common Edible Oils by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
title_fullStr Simultaneous Determination of 23 <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acids in Common Edible Oils by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
title_full_unstemmed Simultaneous Determination of 23 <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acids in Common Edible Oils by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
title_short Simultaneous Determination of 23 <i>Trans</i> Fatty Acids in Common Edible Oils by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
title_sort simultaneous determination of 23 i trans i fatty acids in common edible oils by gas chromatography mass spectrometry
topic simultaneous determination
trans fatty acids
edible oils
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)
url https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/12/7/171
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AT kunwang simultaneousdeterminationof23itransifattyacidsincommonedibleoilsbygaschromatographymassspectrometry
AT xianpengwu simultaneousdeterminationof23itransifattyacidsincommonedibleoilsbygaschromatographymassspectrometry
AT jiezhang simultaneousdeterminationof23itransifattyacidsincommonedibleoilsbygaschromatographymassspectrometry
AT fengenwang simultaneousdeterminationof23itransifattyacidsincommonedibleoilsbygaschromatographymassspectrometry