Compositional analysis of the sterol fraction of olive oil can be used to assess the degree of purity of the oil and the absence of admixture with other plant oils. This determination also permits characterization of the type of olive oil in question: virgin, refined, or solvent‐extracted. In the present work, 130 samples of olive oil were analyzed, the sterol fractions were separated from the unsaponifiable fraction by silica gel plate chromatography, and later they were analyzed as the trimethylsilyl ether derivatives by capillary column gas chromatography. From the results obtained, it was concluded that this methodology is able to differentiate among virgin, refined, and solvent‐extracted olive oils. Stigmasterol, clerosterol, Δ5‐avenasterol, Δ7‐stigmasterol, and Δ7‐avenasterol permit the differentiation of the three types of oil from one another. Campesterol, Δ5, 23‐stigmastadienol, β‐sitosterol, and Δ5,24‐stigmastadienol permit the differentiation of only two oils from each other but confirm the conclusions obtained for other sterols. Correlations between the different sterols of virgin, refined, and solven‐extracted olive oil also have been obtained.
An analytical method based on gas chromatography using a capillary column was used to determine fatty acids in olive oils. The method was applied to 50 samples of virgin olive oil, 50 of refined olive oil, and 30 of solvent-extracted olive oil. Results were compared, with special emphasis on peaks of minor fatty acids to distinguish virgin, refined, and solvent-extracted oils. Some peaks are probably due to trans Isomers of the fatty acids. Statistically significant differences were observed among the 3 types of olive oil.
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