Separation of stigmasta‐3,5‐diene, squalene lsomers, and wax esters from olive oils by single high‐performance liquid chromatography run

Abstract

Abstract To ascertain the authenticity of olive oils, the European Community Regulation requires the stigmasta‐3,5‐diene and wax ester contents to be determined. The official methods are time‐consuming and not suitable for many daily analyses, as quality‐control laboratories need. A method is presented here that allows single high‐performance liquid chromatography separation of stigmasta‐3,5‐diene and wax esters, as well as of the squalene isomers, which give further information on the oil’s authenticity. For stigmasta‐3,5‐diene, the comparison with results obtained with the official method is good. Also for wax esters, the agreement was good, even if they were compared with results obtained from a quicker method as reliable as the official one. The possibility of separating the squalene isomers also at the same time makes the proposed method more advantageous. On the whole, the method, which is suggested for routine and quick screening but not for the exact evaluation of the analyte contents, seems to be a convenient choice for ascertaining on a daily basis the samples’ legal compliance (i.e., whether the analyte content is or is not below the legal value).