Fats are triacylglycerides composed of glycerol and fatty acids (FAs). FAs molecules are saturated or unsaturated. Unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs) are divided into cis FAs and trans FAs. CD BioGlyco provides high-quality cis/trans FAs analysis by infrared spectroscopy (IRS), capillary electrophoresis (CE), and gas chromatography (GC).

Definition of Cis/Trans Fatty Acids

FAs are divided into saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and UFAs. UFAs mean that the chain contains at least one carbon-carbon double bond. If the two hydrogen atoms combined with two carbon atoms on the double bond are on the same side of the carbon chain, they are called cis UFAs. On the contrary, they are trans UFAs. Almost all natural UFAs are cis FAs, mainly found in vegetable oils. Trans FAs are found in hydrogenated vegetable oils, refined vegetable oils, and adipose tissue and milk of ruminants.

Excessive intake of trans FAs may cause blood clots, affect the health of the fetus, reduce the secretion of male hormones, reduce memory, cause obesity and cause coronary heart disease. Therefore, it is necessary to develop fast and accurate quantitative methods to monitor the content of cis/trans FAs in plants and foods.

Fig.1 Test paper for colorimetric inspection of fatty acids. (Zhang, 2018)

Our Services

The methods of analyzing cis/trans FAs include but are not limited to:

• IRS: methyl esterification of FAs in oils and fats, and infrared spectroscopy analysis in a certain wavelength range. The advantage of this method is the rapid, convenient, and accurate determination of the number of independent double bonds.
• CE: separation based on different migration rates of charged components in a high-voltage electric field. The advantages are high efficiency, fast speed, low sample consumption, and low environmental pollution.
• GC: separation based on the difference in the distribution coefficient and adsorption capacity of the components in the two phases. This method directly analyzes total fatty acids (TFAs), SFAs, and UFAs.

Advantages of Us

• Various analysis methods
• Advanced technology platform and experienced scientists
• Customized analysis service
• 24h after-sales service

Applications

• Vegetable oil composition analysis
• Medical application research
• Monitor the quality of food
• FA scientific research

CD BioGlyco has finished many successful Fatty Acid Analysis projects and has been greatly appreciated internationally. We also provide exclusive customized analysis services of cis/trans fatty acids according to your needs. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.

Reference:

1. Zhang, F.; et al. Test paper for colorimetric inspection of fatty acids and edible oils. Sensors. 2018, 18(10): 3252.