Selected elution factors were determined for model oxotriacylglycerols as an aid in identification of the peroxidation products of natural triacylglycerols by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrospray mass spectrometry (LC/ES/MS). For this purpose synthetic triacylglycerols of known structure were converted to hydroperoxides, hydroxides, epoxides, and core aldehydes and their dinitrophenylhydrazones by published procedures. The oxotriacylglycerols were resolved by normal-phase thin-layer chromatography and reverse-phase HPLC, and the identities of the oxotriacylglycerols confirmed by LC/ES/MS. Elution factors of oxotriacylglycerols were determined in relation to a homologous series of saturated triacylglycerols, ranging from 24 to 54 acyl carbons, and analyzed by reverse-phase HPLC, using a gradient of 20-80% isopropanol in methanol as eluting solvent and an evaporative light-scattering detector. It was shown that the elution times varied with the nature of the functional group and its regiolocation in the triacylglycerol molecule. A total of 31 incremental elution factors were calculated from chromatography of 33 oxygenated and nonoxygenated triacylglycerol species, ranging in carbon number from 36 to 54 and in double-bond number from 0 to 6.

Triacylglycerols (TAG) of lard, tallow, egg yolk, chicken skin, palm oil, palm olein, palm stearin, and a transesterified blend of palm stearin and coconut oil (82:18) were investigated by chemical ionization and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry. Accurate molecular level information of the regioisomeric structures of individual TAGs was achieved. When existing in a TAG molecule of lard, palmitic acid occupied 90-100% of the sn-2 position. Within the major fatty acid combinations in tallow TAGs, the secondary position sn-2 was preferentially occupied in the decreasing order by oleoyl > palmitoyl > stearoyl residues, the order in saturated TAGs being myristoyl > stearoyl = palmitoyl. TAGs in egg yolk were more asymmetric than in chicken skin, with linoleic acid highly specifically attached in the yolk sn-2 carbon. Nearly 50% of yolk TAGs contained 52 carbon atoms with two or three double bonds. Linoleic, oleic, and palmitic acids were in the sn-2 location in decreasing quantities in palm oil and its fractions. Triacylglycerols of equal molecular weight behaved similarly in the fractionation process. Randomization of the parent oil TAGs was seen in the transesterified oil. The tandem mass spectrometric analysis applied provided detailed information of the distribution of fatty acids in individual combinations in TAGs.

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Wheat germ is susceptible to oxidation due to its high content of unsaturated oil. Volatile compounds in stored wheat germ were evaluated using dynamic headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC) and sensory analysis. Preliminary comparisons were also made between freshly prepared wheat germ and wheat germ subjected to microwave heating at 45 and 55 degrees C prior to storage at room temperature. The progress of oxidation was followed in untreated wheat germ for 4 weeks and in heat-treated wheat germ for 7 weeks by HS-GC and sensory evaluation. Significant (p < 0.05) changes in rancid odor and flavor were observed in the untreated wheat germ after 3 weeks, whereas no corresponding difference was observed in the microwave-heated wheat germ after 7 weeks of storage. Identification of a total of 36 volatile compounds was performed according to their mass spectra and Kovats indices. The major volatiles were hexanal, alpha-pinene, 1-hexanol, and 3-carene. In addition to analysis of a short period of storage, 30 volatile compounds were identified from the headspace of wheat germ stored for >1 year.