Two marker combinations were used for the differentiation of organically produced from conventionally produced potatoes and also for the geographical origin identification. Fifty-seven samples (from Romanian local producers or imported) were analysed from the stable isotopic (isotope ratio mass spectrometry) and elemental profile (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) point of view. In order to assess the best marker combination, both isotopic and elemental experimental results were subject to chemometric analysis. The statistical tests performed were ANOVA test, Pearson correlation, principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). For a more comprehensive differentiation between organic vs. conventional potato samples, LDA was applied, and 94.7 % of original cases were correctly classified and the percentage obtained in cross-validation procedure was 91.2 %. Regarding the geographic origin classification, LDA provided an initial classification of 96.5 %, while for cross-validation the percentage was 87.7. LDA found δN, Cd, Ca, Cu and Zn as best discrimination markers between organically and conventionally grown potatoes. The strongest predictors for Romania vs. foreign geographical areas along LDA were seen to be Ca, P, Co, Ni and δC.
ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.