Simple and Rapid Identification of Vegetable Oils Using a Benchtop MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometer and eMSTAT Solution™ Statistical Analysis Software

Constituent fatty acids of vegetable oils are known to have different effects according to the type. For example, linoleic acid abundant in flaxseed oil is claimed to decrease serum triglyceride levels.
We analyzed vegetable oils using the MALDI-8020 benchtop MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer and performed multivariate analysis and discriminant analysis using the eMSTAT Solution statistical analysis software. Vegetable oils were successfully grouped by their major constituent fatty acid and discriminated. Using this technique, it is possible to group vegetable oils simply and rapidly.