Simultaneous determination of lipophilic aldehydes by high-performance liquid chromatography in vegetable oil

A very sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the simultaneous separation and measurement of nonpolar and polar lipophilic secondary lipid peroxidation products in vegetable oil. Seventeen nonpolar and 13 polar lipophilic aldehydes and related carbonyl compounds, derived from thermally oxidized soybean oil as 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazones, were separated simultaneously by reversed-phase HPLC. Detection limit for the individual compound is 1 ng. Thirteen of the nonpolar carbonyl compounds were identified as: butanal, 2-butanone, pentanal, 2-pentanone, hexenal, hexanal, 2,4-heptadienal, 2-heptenal, octanal, 2-nonenal, 2,4-decadienal, decanal, and undecanal. Three of the polar carbonyl compounds were identified as: 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal, 4-hydroxy-2-octenal, and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal. The detection of the toxic 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, a major compound, and 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal, a minor compound, in heated soybean oil is of particular importance because these toxic compounds have been shown to be absorbed from the diet.