Coordinating fingerprint determination of solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and chemometric methods for quality control of oxidized tallow

Based on optimized solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME/GC–MS) and chemometric methods, simple, reliable and reproducible methods were described for the first time for developing a chromatographic fingerprint of oxidized tallow. Eight optimal oxidized tallow samples were used to establish the chromatographic fingerprint. Spectral correlative chromatogram was adopted to identify 33 “common components”. The validation of fingerprint analysis was performed based on the relative retention time, the relative peak area of common peaks, sample stability and similarity analysis. The correlation coefficient of similarity of eight optimal oxidized tallow samples was more than 0.962, which showed that samples from different batches were consistent to some extent in spite of slightly different chemical indexes. Through principal component analysis (PCA), 14 constituents were further screened out to be the main chemical markers, which could be applied to more accurate quantitative discrimination and quality control of oxidized tallow.