DIRECT GAS CHROMATOGRAPHIC FRACTIONATION OF MIXED NEUTRAL LIPIDS OF NATURAL ORIGIN

Abstract

The experimental conditions previously developed for the gas chromatographic separation of natural triglyceride mixtures are also satisfactory for a direct gas chromatographic fractionation of mixed neutral lipids. This type of analysis has been shown to be readily applicable to the mixtures of free sterol, steryl ester, and triglyceride found in lymph, blood plasma, and certain molecular distillates of corn oil. The separations are based primarily on the carbon number or molecular weight of the material and are effective because of the virtual absence of short chain triglycerides from these samples. The results are essentially quantitative and can be obtained within an hour on 10 to 50 μg of total lipid. For these analyses a solvent-refined lipid extract is usually satisfactory.