Development of botanical and fish oil standard reference materials for fatty acids.
Development of botanical and fish oil standard reference materials for fatty acids.
Year: 2013
Authors: Schantz, M.M. Sander, L.C. Sharpless, K.E. Wise, S.A. Yen, J.H. Pho, A.N. Betz, J.M.
Publication Name: Anal Bioanal Chem
Publication Details: doi 10.1007/s00216-013-6747-y
Abstract:
As part of a collaboration with the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements and the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed Standard Reference Material (SRM) 3274 Botanical Oils Containing Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids and SRM 3275 Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids in Fish Oil. SRM 3274 consists of one ampoule of each of four seed oils (3274-1 Borage (Borago officinalis), 3274-2 Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), 3274-3 Flax (Linium usitatissimum), and 3274-4 Perilla (Perilla frutescens)), and SRM 3275 consists of two ampoules of each of three fish oils (3275-1 a concentrate high in docosahexaenoic acid, 3275-2 an anchovy oil high in docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, and 3275-3 a concentrate containing 60 % long chain omega 3 fatty acids). Each oil has certified and reference mass fraction values for up to 20 fatty acids. The fatty acid mass fraction values are based on results from analyses using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). These SRMs will complement other reference materials currently available with mass fractions for similar analytes and are part of a series of SRMs being developed for dietary supplements. (Authors abstract)
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been characterizing food Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) for fatty acids for over 15 years, and more recently characterizing dietary supplement SRMs in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements and the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Regardless of methods used to assess fatty acids, an important component for any analysis is the inclusion of a control material for method validation. NIST SRMs can serve this purpose. Given the wide range of fatty acid concentrations found in the botanical and fish oil SRMs, a need exists for matched matrix reference materials for use as control materials. It is important for control materials to match both the matrix (e.g., oil, tissue) as well as the analyte level of the samples being analyzed. For samples that do not require extraction, the most challenging aspect of the analysis is the chromatographic separation, particularly for the botanical oils where the majority of the fatty acids have a C18 chain. The stability of unsaturated fatty acids in reference materials must be assessed periodically, and NIST will continue to monitor levels of these compounds over the lifetime of the SRMs. (Editors comments)
