Vitamin E profile as a reliable authenticity discrimination factor between chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) cultivars

J Agric Food Chem. 2009 Jun 24;57(12):5524-8. doi: 10.1021/jf900435y.

Abstract

In this study, the profile of tocopherols and tocotrienols in chestnut ( Castanea sativa Mill.) kernel oil was evaluated. Four Portuguese chestnut varieties were selected: Aveleira, Boaventura, Judia, and Longal. The vitamin E determination had already been applied to similar matrices, but, to the authors' knowledge, it is the first time that chestnut kernel oil has been evaluated. The prevalent vitamer was gamma-tocopherol, often present in trace amounts in other natural products. Due to the high commercial value of chestnut, a statistical analysis of the obtained results was also conducted to define the tocopherol and tocotrienol profile as a reliable indicator of a specific chestnut variety. To achieve this objective, an analysis of variance was performed to evaluate the accuracy of the method as well as the uniformity of results for each variety. A discriminant analysis was also carried out revealing quite satisfactory results. Four varieties were clustered in four individual groups through the definition of two discriminant analysis dimensions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Fagaceae / chemistry*
  • Nuts / chemistry*
  • Plant Oils / analysis
  • Quality Control
  • Tocotrienols / analysis
  • Vitamin E / analysis*

Substances

  • Plant Oils
  • Tocotrienols
  • Vitamin E