Identification of triacylglycerol positional isomers present in vegetable oils by high performance liquid chromatography atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

High performance liquid chromatography in conjunction with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC/APCI-MS) enables the positional isomers of individual triacylglycerols in mixtures to be identified, Application of HPEC/APCI-MS to the analysis of soybean oil allowed thirty nine triacylglycerols and seven diacylglycerols to be positively identified. The compounds present were quantified and the distribution of fatty acids in the beta-position calculated, This distribution compared favourably with that obtained using a more conventional regiospecific lipase degradation of the oil, A survey of the acylglycerol components of a range of vegetable oils (blackcurrant, blue poppy seed, evening primrose, extra virgin olive, hazelnut, maize and rapeseed) carried out using HPLC/APCI-MS is reported. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.