Separation of tetra-, penta-, and hexaacyl triglycerides by high performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

Synthetic triglycerides with more than three acyl groups were prepared by forming estolides from triglycerides containing one, two, or three monohydroxy fatty acyl moieties. These tetra-, penta-, and hexaacyl triglycerides were examined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and thin layer chromatography (TLC). HPLC separation by the number of acyl groups was obtained with both conventional phase and reverse phase columns. In all systems, triglycerides were eluted first, followed in sequence by tetra-, penta-, and hexaacyl triglycerides. Within each glyceride class, further separation occurred due to variations in chain length and degree of unsaturation among the component acids. TLC migration on silica gel was found to be a function of the number of acyl groups and the length of component acid chains. © 1979 American Oil Chemists' Society.