Characterization and Discrimination of Italian Olive (<i>Olea europaea sativa</i>) Cultivars by Production Area Using Different Analytical Methods Combined with Chemometric Analysis
Emilia Pucci,
Domenico Palumbo,
Adriana Puiu,
Antonia Lai,
Luca Fiorani,
Claudia Zoani
Affiliations
Emilia Pucci
Biotechnology and Agroindustry Division (SSPT-BIOAG), Department for Sustainability, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Centre, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Roma, Italy
Domenico Palumbo
Resource Efficiency Division (SSPT-USER), Department for Sustainability, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Centre, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Roma, Italy
Adriana Puiu
Technology Applications for Security, Health and Heritage Division (FSN-TECFIS), Fusion and Technology for Nuclear Safety and Security Department, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Frascati Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Italy
Antonia Lai
Technology Applications for Security, Health and Heritage Division (FSN-TECFIS), Fusion and Technology for Nuclear Safety and Security Department, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Frascati Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Italy
Luca Fiorani
Technology Applications for Security, Health and Heritage Division (FSN-TECFIS), Fusion and Technology for Nuclear Safety and Security Department, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Frascati Research Centre, Via Enrico Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Italy
Claudia Zoani
Biotechnology and Agroindustry Division (SSPT-BIOAG), Department for Sustainability, Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Casaccia Research Centre, Via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Roma, Italy
Olives and olive products are particularly important for the national agroindustrial sector, for the aspects related to the production territory (authenticity), and for the link with the Mediterranean Diet. Several studies indicate that the elemental profile of olive and olive products depends on the production area in which the olive trees were grown, and the elemental content of the olives can be used as a marker of the production area. In order to confirm this hypothesis, the multi-elemental profile of olive drupes and olive leaves of eleven cultivars arising from two different production areas was evaluated through ICP-MS and ICP-AES techniques. In addition, some leaf samples were analysed by LPAS in order to evaluate the applicability of this new analytical technique for determining the geographic origin. The obtained results, combined with chemometric tools, showed the possibility of discriminating samples according to the production area on the basis of the elemental content, as well as by LPAS.
