Determination of Triacylglycerol Composition in Vegetable Oils Using High-performance Liquid Chromatography: A Collaborative Study

Triacylglycerol (TAG) composition in vegetable oils was collaboratively analyzed in 9 laboratories using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with a refractive index detector. Dococyl (C22) and triacontyl (C30) silica columns were used for analysis. The TAG molecular species in soybean, rapeseed, and palm oils were individually separated on the chromatogram. The collaborative study demonstrated that TAG composition in vegetable oils could be analyzed based on partition numbers (PN) between 38 and 50. In conclusion, the HPLC method using C22 and C30 silica columns would be useful for determining the TAG composition (%) in vegetable oils.