Identification of Triacylglycerol Positional Isomers Present in Vegetable Oils by High Performance

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 HPLC/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 â-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, maiz