Rapid Fingerprinting Of Sterols And Related Compounds In Vegetable And Animal Oils And Phytosterol Enriched- Margarines By Transmission Mode Direct Analysis In Real Time Mass Spectrometry

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Plant-derived sterols, often referred to as phytosterols, are important constituents of plant membranes where they assist in maintaining phospholipid bilayer stability. Consumption of phytosterols has been suggested to positively affect human health by reducing cholesterol levels in blood via inhibition of its absorption in the small intestine, thus protecting against heart attack and stroke. Sterols are challenging analytes for mass spectrometry, since their low polarity makes them difficult to ionize by both electrospray ionization (ESI) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI), typically requiring derivatization steps to overcome their low ionization efficiencies. We present a fast and reliable method to characterize the composition of phytosterols in vegetable oils and enriched margarines. The method requires no derivatization steps or sample extraction procedures thanks to the use of transmission mode direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (TM-DART-MS). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.211661668Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Level - or Education - Personnel (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES