Quantitative determination of linoleic acid in infant formulas by gas chromatography

A method has been developed for the quantitative determination of linoleic acid in infant formulas by gas chromatography (GC). A known amount of triheptadecanoin was spiked into the sample. Total lipid was extracted from the product by an ethyl ether-petroleum ether-ethanol system in a Mojonnier flask. The sample was saponified by methanolic KOH after the solvents were evaporated. Methyl esters of the fatty acids were prepared by boron trifluoride (BF3) in methanol and analyzed by gas chromatography. A glass column packed with 10% SP-2340 (75% cyanopropyl silicone) was used to separate and identify the methyl linoleate and the methyl heptadecanoate. The quantity of methyl linoleate was calculated by comparing the integrated peak areas of these 2 fatty acid methyl esters. This method was satisfactory for both milk protein-based and soy protein-based matrixes. The results obtained by this method are comparable to those obtained by the AOAC spectrophotometric method 28.082-28.085.