Analysis of some fatty acids in edible oil samples

Some fatty acids; palmitic acid, oleic acid (omega-9), linoleic acid (omega-6) and linolenic acid (omega-3) in edible oils such as olive oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil, soybean oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, palm oil and corn oil were determined. The oil samples were methylated to methylester by methanolic hydrochloric and extracted by toluene. The fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography with a DB-wax column. The fatty acid contents depend on the kind of edible oil. Olive oil (1.36 mg/g), sesame oil (3.27 mg/g), sunflower oil (2.84 mg/g) and soybean oil (2.70 mg/g) were found to be the potential sources of linolenic acid (omega-3).