ARS | Publication request: ORANGE, MANDARIN AND HYBRID CLASSIFICATION USING MULTI-VARIATE STATISTICS BASED ON CAROTENOID PROFILES

Submitted to: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: December 14, 2000
Publication Date: February 14, 2001

Interpretive Summary: Orange, mandarin and hybrid juices were analyzed to identify and quantify the various compounds that contribute to the color of the juice. These compounds, called carotenoids, were analyzed using a multi-variate approach that used the carotenoid profile to group the juices by their juice type. The oranges and mandarins formed distinct groups with the hybrids mostly a separate group, but with a few mixed in with the orange juice samples. This would imply that those varieties were very similar to oranges.

Technical Abstract: A study was undertaken to differentiate citrus based on a carotenoid profile obtained from the HPLC determination of twelve carotenoids found in saponified juice. Mandarin, orange, and various hybrid varieties were analyzed to determine their carotenoid profiles. The resulting peak areas were analyzed using principle components analysis, canonical discriminate analysis, and Mahbolis distances. These were used to develop models for classifying the juices into appropriate groups. Thirty-two samples were analyzed to determine classification techniques. Mandarin and orange juice were quite distinct with the hybrids scattered throughout the mandarin and orange clusters using PCA. Canonical discriminate analysis resulted in 3 distinct groups with only a few of the hybrids in the orange grouping.