Author(s)

Gerald Patrick Dillon^1*, Alexandros Yiannikouris², Walter Brandl³, Cathy Cardinall³, Wendy Yuan³, Colm Anthony Moran⁴

¹Regulatory Affairs Department, Alltech Ireland, Dunboyne, Ireland.
²Research Department, Alltech Inc., Nicholasville, USA.
³Analytical Chemistry Department, Mérieux NutriSciences, Burnaby, Canada.
⁴Regulatory Affairs Department, Alltech SARL, Vire, France.

The consumption of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) is associated with several human health benefits. Most notable of these LC-PUFA is docosahexaenoic acid (DHA C_22:6) whose inclusion is considered essential for optimum human health. Biofortification of common foods such as eggs with DHA has emerged as a specific approach to increase the intake of DHA in human populations. This can be achieved by supplementing poultry rations with feeds like microalgae or fish oil that are rich in DHA, which results in an increased uptake in the egg. Gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC-FID) is the method of choice when analyzing food such as eggs for DHA and other fatty acids. For regulatory studies it is desirable to demonstrate that the method is specifically suitable for the analysis of DHA and fatty acids in eggs. The purpose of this paper is to further extend the scope of the AOAC 996.06 methodology examined in the paper by Dillon et al., and to demonstrate the fitness for purpose of the method by examining specific validation parameters. It is a further objective to investigate the stability of DHA and other fatty acids of short and long timepoints. A validation of the method for the determination of DHA and three other fatty acids in eggs is thus presented.

DHA, GC-FID, Fatty Acids, Analytical Method, Fitness for Purpose, Aurantiochytrium limacinum

Dillon, G. , Yiannikouris, A. , Brandl, W. , Cardinall, C. , Yuan, W. and Moran, C. (2019) Matrix Extension with Fitness for Purpose and Stability Assessment of DHA and Additional Fatty Acids in Individual Whole Chicken Eggs. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 10, 517-532. doi: 10.4236/fns.2019.105038.