Determination of n-3 fatty acids in shrimp using a mini-scale extraction method and GC-FID analysis

Crustaceans are low in fat but rich in omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids (FA). In this study, a mini-scale extraction method was optimized based on the Bligh and Dyer method for the determination of n-3 fatty acids, i.e., alpha-linolenic acid (LNA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in shrimp samples followed by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. The optimal extraction conditions were determined through a 2 3 factorial design with a center point. The optimized method extracted comparable amounts of n-3 FA as the original Bligh and Dyer method but was 45 times faster and used 30 times less chloroform and sample and 11 times less total solvent volume. Additionally, the optimized method was successfully applied for the extraction of fatty acid, mainly n-3 fatty acid, from various shrimp species. Thus, the n-3 mini-scale extraction method can be considered a suitable alternative to traditional methods for the extraction of n-3 fatty acid from shrimp.