1H NMR as a tool for the analysis of mixtures of virgin olive oil with oils of different botanical origin

1H NMR spectroscopy provides a possible alternative to conventional chromatographic methods for determining the composition of oils. In this study, various oils from olive, hazelnut and sunflower were analysed by 1H NMR spectroscopy. Experimental conditions were chosen in order to have a short experimental time. It was demonstrated that multivariate statistical methods, in particular discriminant analysis, applied to selected predominant peaks in the 1H NMR spectra of oils resulted in a good separation between these three oils of different botanical origin and permitted the detection of their mixtures.