Simultaneous quantification of oleins (triolein, diolein and monoolein) in mouse feces using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry

Fat malabsorption is an important cause of poor growth in infancy and childhood. Steatorrhea tests have been developed using various methods. Traditional measurements of stool fat, however, require large samples and it often takes as a week to complete the analysis. In this paper, a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry (LC-ESI/MS) method was developed for simultaneous quantitative analysis of triacylglycerols, triolein, diolein and monoolein, in mouse feces. Moreover, the procedure was rapid, simple as well as compatible with LC-ESI/MS. Chloroform-isopropyl alcohol solution was used for fat-soluble sample extraction. After centrifugation and filtration, an analytical solution was prepared. Triolein, diolein and monoolein were separated using non-aqueous reversed-phase column with the mobile phase consisting of A (methanol) and B (acetone-isopropyl alcohol). The precision (% CV) and accuracy (% bias) of the assay were 3.8-14.7% and 85.2-114.9%, respectively. This method has been successfully applied to simultaneous determination of triolein, diolein and monoolein in feces from 30 mice. This method can therefore be applied to measure triacylglycerols in mouse feces accurately and precisely by LC-ESI/ MS, thereby helping to predictive biomarker in fat malabsorption and diagnostic research.