Mono-, Di- and Triglycerides

Analysis

Mono-, di- and triglycerides are glycerol esters of fatty acids. Triglycerides, consisting of three fatty acids bound to a glycerol molecule, are the most common form of fat. Mono- and diglycerides can be formed, for example, as hydrolysis products of triglycerides in the intestine. This splits fatty acids from glycerol, creating free fatty acids.

In the food industry, mono- and diglycerides are often used as emulsifiers and stabilizers. In the animal feed industry, mono-, di-, triglycerides and free fatty acids are used to promote intestinal flora because of their antibacterial effect and contribution to better absorption of nutrients.

With the monoglyceride analysis developed by NutriControl, the mono-, di- and triglycerides in additives can be determined, as well as the free fatty acids and glycerol using GC with FID detection.

Alpha beta variants

The mono- and diglycerides can occur in both the alpha and beta variants. In the alpha variant of the monoglycerides, the fatty acid tail is located at the sn-1 position, while in the beta variant it is positioned at the sn-2 position. In diglycerides, this is the 1.3 position for the alpha variant and the 1.2 position for the beta variant. The alpha variant will always occur more naturally, because this is the most energetically favourable configuration for this molecule.

Product matrix

The analysis is suitable for additives and concentrates of one to a maximum of four different chain lengths. If a mix of monoglycerides with more than four chain lengths is added to one additive, this can seriously complicate the identification of the components. In this case, please contact us to see what the possibilities are for your product via our research route.