Determination of fatty acids in the seeds of <i>Lepidium apetalum</i> Willdenow, <i>Descurainia sophia</i> (L.) Webb ex Prantl, and <i>Draba nemorosa</i> L. by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a charged aerosol detector

Both the contents of fatty acids and the ratios of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids are important parameters for determining the nutritional values of oils. Thus, we herein evaluated the fatty acids present in the seed oils of Lepidium apetalum Willdenow, Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl, and Draba nemorosa L. as sources of Lepidii seu Descurainiae Semen seeds in Northeast Asian Countries. We developed a method based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography using a charged aerosol detector for the quantitative analysis of fatty acids in the seed oils. This technique is less time-consuming than previous methods as derivatization of the oils is not required. Our method was developed though the comparison of a UV detector with a charged aerosol detector, and various stationary phases and gradient programs were tested. In addition, method validation was carried out according to the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines with respect to linearity, precision, and accuracy. We found that the quantities of unsaturated fatty acids (6.051–282.376 mg/g) were higher than those of saturated fatty acids (0.855–12.548 mg/g) in all plant seed oils. The proposed method is reproducible and convenient, and therefore, is suitable for the quantitative analysis of fatty acids in plant oils.