Triglyceride separation by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

Abstract and Summary Rapid separations of triglycerides by chain length and degree of unsaturation were made by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a C‐18 μ‐Bondapak column with acetonitrile‐acetone solvent mixtures. For saturated triglycerides, a linear relationship was observed between the carbon number and the log of the retention volume. Each double bond present in the triglyceride decreased the retention volume to approximately that of a saturated triglyceride with two carbon atoms less. Correlations of the fatty acid composition, as determined by gas liquid chromatography (GLC) with the HPLC data, provides much additional insight about triglyceride composition. To calculate triglyceride compositions, an internal standard tripentadecanoin was added to collected fractions before analysis by GLC.