Separation of Native and Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Omega-3- and Omega-6- fatty acids have an important impact on health with positive effects on heart diseases and arteriosclerosis being reported. These fatty acids are essential, as they cannot be synthesized by humans. For this reason, an adequate supply via nutrition is mandatory. Often they are applied as dietary supplements or added to conventional food products. An appropriate ratio of Omega-3 and Omega-6 is recommended. Therefore, a reproducible and simple analysis of fatty acids in the field of food industry is fundamental. This application note demonstrates a method for separation of structurally very similar compounds – without derivatization of fatty acids!