Stable Carbon Isotope Ratios in Establishing Maize Oil Purity

Abstract

Abstract There are problems in establishing purity in maize oil by conventional technics of fatty acid composition, sterol analysis and tocopherol determination. It is shown that the new technique of stable carbon isotope ratio (SCIR) analysis overcomes these difficulties. Forty two authentic maize oil samples and eighty two samples of non‐maize oils were examined and ranges and means for the SCIR values established. It is shown that there is a distinct difference and that no other common oil has an SCIR value approaching the range exhibited by maize oil samples. As little as 10% of impurity can be easily established.