Lipids - Analysis

8 important questions on Lipids - Analysis

How can you analyse fatty acid composition?

  1. Triacylglycerides are hydrolysed and methyl esterified
  2. FAMEs (fatty acid methyl esters) are applied to GC-FID
    ● peaks identification by comparing rt with rt of pure fatty acids
    ● Area of the peak: concentration of fatty acid

What is the relation between retention time and kind of fatty acid / FAME?

  • The longer the FAME the longer the retention time
  • The more saturated the FAME the longer the retention time
  • Place double bond (W11<W7<W3<no W)

Can you distinguish between the cis and trans conformation in a GC-FID and the place where the double bond is?

Yes but you need to know the retention time of the pure compound
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How can you calculate the degree of unsaturation and how is done?

Trough the Iodine value:
  • IV is grams of iodine reacted with 100 g of oil -
  • Iodine reacts with the carbon-carbon double bonds -
  • IV is a measure for the degree of unsaturation

Have saturated or ussaturated fat's a higher iodine value?

unsaturaed fats have an higher iodine value since they have double bonds and the iodine reachts with the double bond.

Which values would you use when calculating the IV for a lipid based on the fatty acid composition (analysed with GC): IV of fatty acid, IV of TAG, or IV of FAME?

Because you wand to know the fatty acid composition of the fat you use the one with the triglyceride.

What is the IV value of sunflower oil based on the facomposition: 11% 16:0, 6% 18:0, 29% 18:1 and 52% 18:2.

0.29*86 + 0.52*173 = 115
Becasue you are intrested in the oil you take the trigliceride values

How can you calculate the ECN (equivalent carbon number ) number and what does this number indicate?


The number indicates the order the triglycerides will appair on your HPLC diagram.
ECN= CN – 2n
  • CN is the carbon number (without glycerol)
  • n is the number of double bonds

More precisely: ECN = CN – d(o)*n(o) – d(l)*n(l) - d(ln)*n(ln)
  • taking into account the origin of the double bond
  • n(o) , n(l) and n(ln) are the numbers of double bonds attributed to oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids
  • the coefficient do , dl and dln can be calculated by means of the reference triglycerides


Often used:
ECN = CN – 2.60n0 – 2.35nl – 2.17nln

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