Marine Sources of Furan Fatty Acids

ABSTRACTThe furan fatty acid (F-fatty acid) content was determined in different marine sources as well as in commercially available marine oil products that claim to be health promoting. The five F-fatty acids typically representing the majority of F-fatty acids in fish, 9M5 (9-(3-methyl-5-pentylfuran-2-yl)-nonanoic acid), 9D5 (9-(3-dimethyl-5-pentylfuran-2-yl)-nonanoic acid), 11D3 (11-(3,4-Dimethyl-5-propylfuran-2-yl)-undecanoic acid), 11D5 (11-(3,4-Dimethyl-5-pentylfuran-2-yl)-undecanoic acid), and 11M5 (11-(3-Methyl-5-pentylfuran-2-yl)-undecanoic acid) were measured as methyl esters using a gas chromatograph linked with a tandem mass spectrometer (GC/MS-MS). The results showed a significant difference in F-fatty acid levels between the different marine oil products analyzed, depending on the source of raw material. Of the 11 different Icelandic marine catches analyzed, the highest total amount of F-fatty acids was found in the farmed fish.