Development, validation, and application of an HPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of oxidized fatty acids in plants.

Oxylipins constitute a huge class of compounds produced by oxidation of long-chain unsaturated fatty acids either chemically (by radicals such as reactive oxygen species, ROS) or enzymatically (by lipoxygenases, LOX; cyclooxygenases, COX; or cytochrome P450 pathways). This process generates fatty acids peroxides, which can then be further modified in a broad range to epoxy, hydroxy, keto, ether fatty acids, and also hydrolyzed to generate small aldehydes and alcohols. In general, oxylipins are present in almost all living organisms and have a wide range of signaling, metabolic, physiological, and ecological roles depending on the particular organism and on their structure.