The production of artifacts during preparation of fatty acid methyl esters from fish oils, food products and pathological samples

✍ Scribed by Moffat, Colin F. ;McGill, Alister S. ;Anderson, Robert S.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 494 KB
• Volume: 14
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0935-6304
• DOI: 10.1002/jhrc.1240140506

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Methyl esters were synthesized from lipid extracted by a modified Bligh and Dyer technique. The lipid was saponified and the free fatty acids methylated using boron trifluoride in methanol. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT; 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐methylphenol) was added to the initial sample and to the extracted lipid prior to methyl ester synthesis.

Under these conditions, the BHT was derivatized to a range of compounds, some of which can result in misinterpretation of the GC trace.

Three components have been characterized by mass spectroscopy. Two of these, which eluted slightly before 16:0 on a polar column, were shown to be 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐methoxyphenol and 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐methoxy‐methylphenol. The third component, which coeluted with 15:0 on the same column, is 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐4‐methoxy‐5‐hydroxyphenol.