Determination of lipids, including medium-chain fatty acids, in human feces

In this method for determining fecal lipids, feces are saponified with ethanolic potassium hydroxide, the ethanol is evaporated, and the acidified residue extracted with hexane. An aliquot of the hexane solution is then titrated with ethanolic sodium hydroxide, the solvents are evaporated, and the residue (soaps and unsaponifiable matter) is weighed. The unsaponifiable matter is extracted with acetone and determined gravimetrically. The method thus permits the determination of milli-equivalents of fatty acids, total lipids, and fatty acids in one sample and is applicable to feces containing medium-chain fatty acids and their triglycerides.