Analysis of phytosterols and phytostanols in enriched dairy products by Fast gas chromatography with mass spectrometry

A Fast gas chromatography and mass spectrometry method for plant sterols/stanols analysis was developed, using a short capillary gas chromatography column (10 m × 0.1 mm internal diameter × 0.1 μm film thickness) coated with 5% diphenyl-polysiloxane. A silylated mixture of the main plant sterols/stanols standards (β-sitosterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, campestanol, sitostanol) was well separated in 1.5 min, with a good peak resolution (>1.4, determined on a critical chromatographic peak pair (β-sitosterol and sitostanol)), repeatability (<13%), and sensitivity (<0.017 ng/mL). The suitability of this Fast chromatography method was tested on plant sterols/stanols-enriched dairy products (yogurt and milk), which were subjected to lipid extraction, cold saponification, and silylation prior to injection. The analytical performance (sensitivity < 0.256 ng/mL and repeatability < 10.36%) and significant reduction of the analysis time and consumables demonstrate that Fast gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method could be also employed for the plant sterols/stanols analysis in functional dairy products.