Identification of triacylglycerols containing two short-chain fatty acids at sn-2 and sn-3 positions from bovine udder by fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry.

Several triacylglycerol (TAG) molecular species, that contain two short-chain fatty acids (C4 to C8) at the sn-2 and sn-3 positions of the glycerol backbone, were isolated from bovine udder by using solvent extraction and silica gel column chromatography. Their structures were identified by fast atom bombardment (FAB) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), based on the information obtained from collision-induced dissociation (CID) spectra of sodium-adducted molecules ([M + Na](+)) of model TAG compounds which had been synthesized from glycerol and appropriate fatty acids. For each species, the relative positions of the three fatty acids on the glycerol backbone, as well as fatty acid composition and double-bond position in the fatty acyl group, were determined. A majority of sodium-adducted molecules observed in the FAB mass spectrum were mixtures of at least two components that have different fatty acid composition but the same molecular mass. In addition, all the components present in mixtures of all the species contain a long-chain fatty acid (C12 to C18) at the sn-1 position, a short-chain fatty acid (C4 to C8) at the sn-2 position, and a butyric acid uniquely at the sn-3 position. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.