Method for Determination of Androstenone, Skatole and Indole in Dorsal Fat of Pigs

Abstract

The aim of the study was to improve a high performance liquid chromatography method for determination of substances responsible for boar taint in pig fat in order to achieve an easily applicable procedure in laboratory practice. Androstenone and skatole were extracted by methanol from melted fat, derivatized with dansylhydrazine and detected using a high performance liquid chromatography method with a fluorescence detection in the presence of internal standards. The calibration curves showed a linear dependence in the concentration ranges used (R² = 0.9979 for androstenone and 0.9983 for skatole). The limits of detection were 0.24 μg g^–1 of fat for androstenone and 0.03 μg g^–1 of fat for skatole. Five real samples of boar dorsal fat were analysed to validate this modified method. Androstenone and skatole were well detectable in real samples. Values obtained in repeated measurements showed only low variance. The method allowed us to detect and quantify the concentrations of boar taint compounds below the threshold of human perception.