Synthesis, isolation, and GC analysis of all the 6,8-to 13,15-cis/trans conjugated linoleic acid isomers

Octadecadienoic acids with conjugated double bonds are often referred to as conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. CLA is of considerable interest because of potentially beneficial effects reported from animal studies. Analysis of CLA is usually carried out by GC elution of FAME. If the presence of low-level isomers is of interest, a complementary technique such as silver-ion HPLC is also used. These analyses have been hindered by a lack of well-characterized commercially available reference materials. Described here are the synthesis and isolation of selected 6,8- through 13,15-positional CLA isomers, followed by isomerization of these CLA isomers with iodine to produce all the possible cis,cis, cis,trans, trans,cis, and trans,trans combinations. Also present are the GC retention times of the CLA FAME relative to gamma-linolenic acid (6c,9c,12c-octadecatrienoic acid) FAME using a 100-m CP Sil-88 capillary column (Varian Inc., Lake Forest, CA). These data include all the CLA isomers that have been identified thus far in foods and dietary supplements and should greatly aid in the future analysis of CLA in these products.