| Summary: | Gas chromatography (GC) coupled with mass spectrometer (MS) or flame ionization detector (FID) is the most widely used technique for determination of fatty acids (FA), including trans fatty acids (TFA). TFA are associated with an undesirable effect on serum lipid profiles, and thus may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, being considered in this respect, worse than saturated fat. The aim of this study was to optimize and validate a GC method for the quantification of FA in foods. Moreover, the developed method was applied for the FA quantification in bakery products. FA methyl esters were separated in SP-2560 column (100 m x 0.25 mm i.d., 0.25 µm). GC method was validated regarding linearity, limits of detection and quantification, recovery, accuracy and precision. FA profile of different types of bakery products (filled and unfilled sweet biscuits, sandwich biscuits, brioche with filling, filled croissants, salty snacks, wafers and crackers) was determined. According to the obtained results, the validated method presented good linearity for the following concentrations: palmitic acid (27 – 2730 µg/mL); palmitoleic acid (35 – 202 µg/mL); stearic acid (27 – 2730 µg/mL); oleic acid (45 – 4547 µg/mL); linoleic acid (45 – 4549 µg/mL); linolenic acid (53 – 300 µg/mL); elaidic acid (7 – 135 µg/mL); and linoelaidic acid (6 – 102 µg/mL). Determination coefficients (r2) were always equal or greater than 0.9989, indicating suitability for quantification. The most abundant saturated FA found in the analysed bakery products was palmitic acid. In summary, the validated method is suitable for routine analysis of FA. Moreover, FA profile of foodstuffs could be used for several purposes, namely for labelling of foods and quality control.
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