Abstract
IN their investigations on the fatty acid composition of butter-fat, Backderf and Brown1 deduced the presence of trans-octadec-16-enoic acid, an acid hitherto unknown in Nature. Later this acid was isolated from butter-fat by Hansen and Cooke2 and its physical and chemical charac teristics were established. The present communication reports the detection by gas-liquid chromatography of this acid in sheep and ox fats using as a basis for identi fication the gas-liquid chromatographic data previously obtained for the methyl esters of pure trans-octadec-16-enoic acid isolated from butter-fat. The methyl esters of both sheep and ox fats were analysed with a chromatograph fitted with a strontium-90 ioniza-tion detector and an 8 ft. × ¼ in. column. With a ‘Celite’ column impregnated with 20 per cent (w/w) polydiethylene glycol adipate at 207°a peak appeared in both fats with RF value 1.26 corresponding with that recorded for the methyl ester of trans-octadec-16-enoic acid2, but with a ‘Celite’ column containing 5 per cent (w/w) ‘Apiezon L’ at 207° this component was not apparent. As was earlier found with the polydiethylene glycol adipate stationary phase2, resolution from other cis and trans C18 isomers and from methyl stearate was complete whereas with a ‘Celite’ column impregnated with 5 per cent (w/w) ‘Apiezon L’ the methyl ester of trans-octadec-16-enoic acid was not separated from methyl stearate. To confirm the presence of trans-octadec-16-enoic acid and other trans acidsin sheep fat and ox fat, work is in progress which is designed to isolate and identify these fatty acid constituents.
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References
Backderf, R. H., and Brown, J. B., Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 76, 15 (1958).
Hansen, R. P., and Cooke, N. J., Biochem. J., 81, 237 (1961).
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HANSEN, R. Occurrence of trans-Octadec-16-enoic Acid in Sheep and Ox Perinephric Fats. Nature 198, 995 (1963). https://doi.org/10.1038/198995a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/198995a0
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