Borage oils

In any accurate analysis, elimination of artefacts is critical as they could interfere with characterizing a particular oil. Geometrical isomers of ALA (cis-9, cis-12, cis-15 18 3) were reported as common constituents of fully refined ALA rich oils as well as in foods containing these oils (Wolff, 1992,1993a,b Wolff and Sebedio, 1991). However, a number of researchers suggested these 

Peak number Component Retention time (min) Molecular ion m/z 

The position of fatty acids in the triacylglycerol (TAG) structure not only significantly influences fatty acid absorption, but could provide important markers for establishing the authenticity of different oils. Lawson and Hughes (1988) determined the TAG stereospecific structure of a number of GLA rich oils, 

Adapted from Wolff and Sebedio (1994), data given as peak area percentages. arefined borage oil not deodorized and used for deodorization experiments bnumber of analyses cprobably includes some trans-6, cis- 9,1 rails-12 18 3 acids. Generally too low to be taken into account by the integrator. 

Palmitic acid was highest in the 1-position for both oils but was still present in significant amounts in the 3-position. Stearic acid was also predominant in the 

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Linolenic acid (Gamma) 18 3 cis,cis,cis- 6,9,12-octadecatrienoic acid Borage oil... 

Brosche, T. and Platt, D., Effect of borage oil consumption on fatty acid metabohsm, transepidermal water loss and skin parameters in elderly people, Arch. Gerontol. Geriatr., 30, 139-150, 2000. 

Table 4.1 Typical fatty acid composition of evening primrose and borage oils...

Botazzi el al., 1985 Gibson el al., 1992 Lotti el al., 1980). In this study eight monounsaturated fatty acids were readily detected, with the major one being C18 1 with several minor ones, C14 l and C15 l, only detected in the enriched column fractions. The major Cl6 1 fatty acids identified in evening primrose were n-7 and n-9, which contrasted with borage oil that contained Cl6 1 (n-7) and 06 1 (n-5) (Wretensjo and Svensson, 1990). 

Table 4.5 GC-MS analysis of fatty acid picolinyl esters of borage oil...

Table 4.6 Formation of geometrical isomers of y-linolenic acid in borage oil deodorized at different temperatures as determined by gas liquid chromatography of fatty acid isopropyl esters on a 30 m long DB-wax capillary column...

Sensidoni, A., Bortolussi, G., Orlando, C. and Fantozzi, P. (1996) Borage oil (Bortago officinalis L.) an important source of gamma linolenic acid. II. Tocopherols and chlorophyll content and sensorial analysis of borage oils extracted by different techniques and blended with extra virgin olive oil. lnd. Aliment., 35, 664-669. 

Wolff, R.L. and Sebedio, J.L. (1994) Characterization of y-linolenic acid geometrical isomers in borage oil subjected to heat treatments (deodorization). J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc., 71, 117-126. 

Wretensjo, I. and Svensson, L. (1990) Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric identification of the fatty acids in borage oil using the picolinyl ester derivatives. J. Chromatogr., 521, 80-97. 

Oils used mainly for the health benefits of specific fatty acids are always a potential source of adulteration. Chapter 4 investigates three types of these oils fish oils, evening primrose oil and borage oil (once used as an adulterant of evening primrose oil, but now an acknowledged oil in its own right). The first two are reasonably well defined, but fish oils—because of the range of sources and compositions—still present a problem for analysts. 

Shimada, Y., Sugihara, A., Shibahiraki, M., Fujita, H., Nakano, H., Nagao, T., Terai, T., and Tominaga, Y. 1997b. Purification of y-linolenic acid from borage oil by a two-step enzymatic method./. Am. Oil Chem. Soc., 74,1465-1470. 

Major Fatty Acid (% of total fatty acids) Primrose Oil Borage Oil Black Currant Oil... 

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