In this study, the profile of tocopherols and tocotrienols in chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) kernel oil
was evaluated. Four Portuguese chestnut varieties were selected: Aveleira, Boaventura, Judia, and
Longal. The vitamin E determination had already been applied to similar matrices, but, to the
authors’ knowledge, it is the first time that chestnut kernel oil has been evaluated. The prevalent
vitamer was γ-tocopherol, often present in trace amounts in other natural products. Due to the high
commercial value of chestnut, a statistical analysis of the obtained results was also conducted to
define the tocopherol and tocotrienol profile as a reliable indicator of a specific chestnut variety. To
achieve this objective, an analysis of variance was performed to evaluate the accuracy of the
method as well as the uniformity of results for each variety. A discriminant analysis was also carried
out revealing quite satisfactory results. Four varieties were clustered in four individual groups
through the definition of two discriminant analysis dimensions.
