The determination of the structure of unsaturated fatty acids on a micro scale with the gas–liquid chromatogram

Abstract

The separation of the methyl esters of mono- and di-carboxylic acids on the gas-liquid chromatogram is described. Oxidation with permanganate in acetic acid followed by identification of the split products on the gas-liquid chromatogram is used to establish the structures of some naturally occurring mono- and di-unsaturated acids. The presence of vaccenic acid in human plasma is confirmed by this technique and cow''s milk is shown to contain a variety of mono-unsaturated octadecenoic acids. The isolation of an unsaturated acid present as a major component in human red cells and plasma is described, and is shown by reduction and oxidation to be arachidonic acid.