Comparative analysis of free and total fatty acids in plant-based milk alternatives from the Greek market

Plant-based milk alternatives (PBMAs) are gaining increasing popularity, directing research attention to their nutritional composition. For the first time, this work reports the free fatty acid (FFA) contents of PBMAs from the Greek market, compared with total FA composition, covering almond-, soy-, coconut-, oat-, walnut-, and rice-based products. A previously established, rapid, liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry method (LC-HRMS) and a conventional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method (GC-MS) are applied to determine FFAs and estimate total FA composition, respectively. In both cases, the major components are FA 18:1, FA 18:2 and FA 16:0 (up to 46.9, 42.9, 36.0 % for FFAs and 51.4, 46.6, 38.2 %, for total FAs, respectively), except for coconut-based samples, where FA 12:0 prevails in total FAs (up to 49.0 %), while FA 16:0 predominates in FFAs (up to 31.9 %). Principal component analysis differentiates PBMAs based on the correlation of FAs with the plant source, offering potential for adulteration studies.