High-power gradient diffusion NMR spectroscopy for the rapid assessment of extra-virgin olive oil adulteration

A high gradient diffusion NMR spectroscopy was applied to measure diffusion coefficients (D) of a number of extra-virgin olive, seed, and nut oils in order to ascertain the suitability of this rapid and direct method for discrimination of adulterated olive oils. Minimum adulteration levels that could be detected by changes in D were 10% for sunflower (SuO) and soybean oil (SoO), and 30% for hazelnut (HO) and peanut oil (PO). Qualitative and quantitative prediction of adulteration was achieved by discriminant analysis (DA). The highest prediction accuracy (98–100%) was observed only when two DA models were concomitantly used for sample classification. The first DA model provided recognition of high adulterated EVOO with more than 20% of SuO or SoO, and 30% with PO, whilst the second model could differentiate EVOO adulterated with 10% of SuO or SoO, and more than 30% of HO. The validation test performed with an independent set of randomly adulterated EVOO samples gave 100% classification success. The high accuracy levels together with minimal requirements of sample preparation, and short analyses time, prove the high-power gradient diffusion NMR spectroscopy as an ideal method for rapid screening of adulteration in valuable olive oils.