Isoprenoids composition and colour to differentiate virgin olive oils from a specific mill

The objective of this work was verify if, based on the concentration of some key isoprenoids and the colour, olive oils from a specific mill could be differentiated from those from other mills by linear discriminant analysis. The isoprenoids studied were β-carotene, lutein, α-tocopherol, β-sitosterol, pheophytin a and squalene, which are isoprenoids of interest in food science and nutrition. 88% of correct classification was obtained by linear discriminant analysis and, therefore, a good differentiation was achieved. This fact can reveal the impact of the conditions of elaboration of each particular mill on the isoprenoid content of the olive oil and therefore on its colour, which is a characteristic of foods with a high effect on consumers.