Quantification of conjugated linoleic acid and other essential fatty acids in ovine meat, milk, fat, and intestinal digesta

Abstract

Saturated fatty acids (FAs), positional and geometric isomers of mono-, di- and tri-unsaturated FAs containing eighteen carbon atoms were separated on two long HPLC RP-C18 columns. All FAs in ovine milk, meat, fat, and intestinal digesta were assayed after pro-column derivatization using UV detection at 256 nm. The content of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in processed samples can be determined by using simultaneous UV monitoring at 256 and 235 nm. The presented method is a simple, sensitive and selective analytical tool for routine quantification of FAs and CLA.