Tandem Triacylglycerol (TAG) and PCA Adulteration Detection Approach for Avocado Oil

Abstract

Traditional methods used to determine oil purity like fatty acids and sterols are time consuming and chemically wasteful; standards that utilize these methods require a large set of samples to cover natural variables to establish upper and/or lower limits for each compound. Due to this, it can be challenging to determine the purity of newer products on the market, like avocado oil, when standards have not yet been fully developed. Triacylglycerol analysis in tandem with principal component analysis (PCA) differs from these tradition methods; standard ranges for each triacylglycerol are not needed to determine purity. This study built on our earlier work on olive oil but used laboratory-made avocado oils accounting for a wide range of natural variables to measure avocado oil triacylglycerols and apply PCA to detect adulteration in avocado oil. This method had the same purity determination accuracy as traditional fatty acid and sterol methods, while being less time consuming, producing less chemical waste, easier to perform than the original methods with the added advantage that it can be utilized immediately by industry while official standards are still being developed.