Characterization and quantification of the hydrocarbons fraction of the subcutaneous fresh fat of Iberian pig by off-line combination of high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography

Hydrocarbons in fresh subcutaneous fat of Iberian pig have been analyzed by GC–MS after fractionation of the unsaponifiable fraction with a new off-line combination of HPLC and GC method. The new method proposed improves the recovery and simultaneous quantification of terpenic hydrocarbons in comparison to the traditional LC method. When necessary and for identification purposes, selective ion monitoring (SIM) was used as acquisition mode in GC–MS. To determine the position of the double bonds in the unsaturated hydrocarbon chain the dimethyl disulfide derivatives (DMDS) were obtained. To elucidate the structure of the branched 1-alkenes the hydrocarbon fraction was submitted to hydrogenation. Thirty-five compounds have been identified, including n-alkanes, n-alkenes, branched (n-1,n-2-dimethyl-1-alkenes) and terpenic hydrocarbons, being the most abundant n-alkenes and n-alkanes of even chain of n-C12–n-C26. Besides the hydrocarbons already described in bibliography, a new diterpenic hydrocarbon, ent-kaurene, have been identified for the first time. The compound reported as Neophytadiene by other authors, has been identified as a 20 atoms hydrocarbon with two double bonds, the 7,11,15-trimethyl-heptadeca-1,4-diene.