Phospholipids determination in vegetable oil by thin-layer chromatography and imaging densitometry

A rapid reliable method was developed to measure vegetable oil phospholipid content by thin-layer chromatography-imaging densitometry. Phospholipid samples were obtained from crude soybean oil by water degumming and then analyzed and quantified by thin-layer chromatography and imaging densitometry. Phosphatidyl choline (PC), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (PE) and phosphatidyl inositol (PI) standard curves were generated. The total phospholipid content of the oil was 1.12-1.26%, of which 27.1 +/- 1.86% was PC, 22.7 +/- 0.45% was PE, while PI accounted for 17.2 +/- 0.85% of the total. A high correlation coefficient of 0.985 was found for reproducibility of pixel area (OD*mm) at a constant concentration of standard phospholipid. Regression analysis of the pixel area vs the phospholipid (PC, PE, and PI) weights (mu g) generated R-2 greater than 0.983. Thin-layer chromatography-imaging densitometry proved a useful tool for rapid determination and quantification of the major phospholipids in soybean oil. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.