Method for determination of fatty acids in bovine colostrum using GC-FID

• Bovine colostrum can be an important source of fatty acids in human diet.
• Influence of chromatographic conditions to separation of FAME was investigated.
• The first validation of the AOAC 969.33 method for bovine colostrum was performed.
• DB-FFAP column was suitable for separating fatty acids from colostrum.

Bovine colostrum is potentially valuable source of essential fatty acids (FAs), but so far only few studies have made the effort to estimate FA composition of this potential resource. The aim of current research was to fill this gap with selecting and validating an accurate procedure for the analysis of the composition of the FAs in bovine colostrum. We used colostrum samples of Holstein-Friesian cattle from Märja experimental farm as a test material. The validated method includes derivatization, in which FAs are sent through esterification with the acidic catalyst boron trifluoride. Formed methyl esters of fatty acids (FAMEs) were analysed using GC-FID. The obtained LOD and the LOQ of FAMEs were 0.11–0.68 and 0.37–2.27 ppm, respectively. The analysis of fortified samples showed very good and similar recoveries, indicating that the method proposed here can be routinely used for determination and investigation of the fatty acids in dairy products.