Comparative analysis of EPA and DHA in fish oil nutritional capsules by GC-MS

Lipids in Health and Disease

Hu-Biao Chen⁴  Zhong-Zhen Zhao⁴  Lin Zhu⁴  Jian-Gang Wang¹  Xiao-Jun Zhang¹  Pei Luo³  Zhi-Feng Zhang³  Lan-Lan Fan²  Jia-Yi Fan⁴  Shuk-Man Li⁴  Tao Yi⁴ 

[1] School of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China;Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plant, Nanning, Guangxi 530023, China;The State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China;School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong, China

关键词: Comparative analysis;    GC-MS;    DHA;    EPA;    Fish oil;   

Others  :  1151644
DOI  :  10.1186/1476-511X-13-190

 received in 2014-07-07, accepted in 2014-12-09,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Fish oil is a popular nutritional product consumed in Hong Kong. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the two main bioactive components responsible for the health benefits of fish oil. Market survey in Hong Kong demonstrated that various fish oil capsules with different origins and prices are sold simultaneously. However, these capsules are labelled with same ingredient levels, namely EPA 180 mg/g and DHA 120 mg/g. This situation makes the consumers very confused. To evaluate the quality of various fish oil capsules, a comparative analysis of the contents of EPA and DHA in fish oil is crucial.

Methods

A gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was developed for identification and determination of EPA and DHA in fish oil capsules. A comprehensive validation of the developed method was conducted. Ten batches of fish oil capsules samples purchased from drugstores of Hong Kong were analyzed by using the developed method.

Results

The present method presented good sensitivity, precision and accuracy. The limits of detection (LOD) for EPA and DHA were 0.08 ng and 0.21 ng, respectively. The relative standard deviation (RSD) values of EPA and DHA for repeatability tests were both less than 1.05%; and the recovery for accuracy test of EPA and DHA were 100.50% and 103.83%, respectively. In ten fish oil samples, the contents of EPA ranged from 39.52 mg/g to 509.16 mg/g, and the contents of DHA ranged from 35.14 mg/g to 645.70 mg/g.

Conclusion

The present method is suitable for the quantitative analysis of EPA and DHA in fish oil capsules. There is a significant variation in the contents of the quantified components in fish oil samples, and there is not a linear relationship between price and contents of EPA and DHA. Strict supervision of the labelling of the fish oil capsules is urgently needed.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Yi et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

【 图 表 】

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