Identification of conjugated fatty acids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione adducts

4-Methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione was reacted with conjugated fatty acid methyl esters to form Diels-Alder cycloaddition products. The electron impact mass spectra of conjugated octadecadienoates and 9,11,13-octadecatrienoate were simple and informative and allowed the positions of the double bonds to be determined. The dienes gave single adducts whereas the triene formed four products that corresponded to two stereoisomers of the adducts of the 9,11-diene system and two of the 11,13-diene system. The method can be used to complement other methods for identifying conjugated fatty acids.