Identification and quantification of dimethyl acetals from plasmalogenic lipids in lamb intramuscular fat under different derivatization procedures.

Meat lipids are mostly comprised by triacylglycerols, but small amounts of plasmalogens are also present in intramuscular fat. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of lipid derivatization on the presence of dimethyl acetal (DMA) molecules from plasmalogenic lipids in intramuscular fat samples. Three different methods of methylation were assayed. Acid-catalyzed methanolysis using HCl, the traditional procedure to derivatize meat lipids, was compared to two base-catalyzed methanolysis based on the ISO International standard procedure using either KOH and/or NaOCH which, apparently, are only able to methylate fatty acids from triacylglycerols. DMA compounds were isolated by thin layer chromatography and then identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The most prominent DMA molecules detected were 16:0 and 18:0, but also minor amounts of monounsaturated and branched-chain DMA were quantified. Acid methylation yielded the highest amounts of DMA. However, the present article demonstrates that ISO standard based methylation procedures could also generate DMA derivatives in considerable quantities, which is not usually considered and may interfere with the determination of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) from triacylglycerides. The current research warns scientist about possible FAME misidentifying and overestimations in intramuscular fat analysis using basic methylation and the need to consider the presence of DMA in samples that contain plasmalogens.