RATIONALE: |The carbon, hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope composition (δ(13) C, δ(2) H, and δ(18) O values) of plants and their products is linked to photosynthetic fractionation, environmental factors and agricultural practices. Therefore, they contribute to determining the purity of commercial vegetable oils and may provide information on their geographical origin.
METHODS: Maize, olive, sunflower, groundnut, soybean and rice oils differing in sites of growth in the southern and northern hemispheres were characterized by bulk oil stable isotope ratios (δ(13) Cbulk , δ(2) Hbulk , and δ(18) Obulk values), fatty acids (FAs) concentrations and δ(13) CFA values using elemental analysis/isotope ratio mass spectrometry, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, gas chromatography/flame ionization detection and gas chromatography/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Principal component analysis was applied to examine the inherent structure of the data.
RESULTS: The δ(13) Cbulk values of maize oils (-18.4 to -14.9 0/00) are typical for C4 plants, and those of olive (-30.2 to -28.2 0/00), sunflower (-30.2 to -29.2 0/00), groundnut (-29.3 0/00), soybean (-30.6 0/00), and rice (-34.5 0/00) oils are typical for C3 plants. The δ(2) Hbulk values vary from -161 to -1320/00 for maize oils and -171 to -109 0/00 for C3 oils. The δ(18) Obulk values of all oils vary between 15.2 and 38.9 0/00. The major δ(13) CFA differences (>5 0/00) within plant species render the inter-C3 -species comparison difficult. These differences are explained in terms of variations in the lipid biosynthetic pathways and blend of vegetable oils of different FA composition and δ(13) CFA values. The samples from the southern hemisphere are generally enriched in (13) C compared with those from the northern hemisphere. Differences between the southern and northern hemispheres were observed in δ(2) H (p < 0.001) and δ(18) Obulk (p = 0.129) values for all C3 oils, and in δ(13) C18:1 (p = 0.026) and δ(18) Obulk (p = 0.160) values for maize oils.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that combining bulk and molecular stable isotope ratios, fatty acid compositions and their statistical analysis helps the characterization of the geographic origin of oils. This methodology can be used to detect and source impurities in valuable vegetable oils commercialized worldwide.