Characterization and Differentiation of Fresh Orange Juice Variety Based on Conventional Physicochemical Parameters, Flavonoids, and Volatile Compounds Using Chemometrics

The present study focused on the possibility of differentiating fresh-unprocessed orange juice according to botanical origin (variety), based on the use of conventional physico-chemical parameters, flavonoids, and volatile compounds, in combination with chemometrics. For this purpose, oranges from seven different varieties were collected during the harvest years of 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 from central and southern Greece. The physico-chemical parameters that were determined included: electrical conductivity, acidity, pH, and total soluble solids. The flavonoids: hesperidin, neohespseridin, quercetin, naringin, and naringenin were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-DAD). Finally, volatile compounds were determined using headspace solid-phase micro-extraction in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS). Statistical treatment of data by multivariate techniques showed that orange juice variety had a significant (p < 0.05) impact on the above analytical parameters. The classification rate for the differentiation of orange juice according to orange variety using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was 89.3%, based on the cross-validation method.