Application of Molecular Spectroscopy and Chromatography in Combination with Chemometrics for the Authentication of Virgin Coconut Oil

Coconut oil and virgin coconut oil can be considered as functional food oils owing to their beneficial effects on human health. Coconut oils command a high price in the fats and oils industry, hence they may be subjected to adulteration with cheaper oils such as palm oil. As a consequence, the development and standardization of analytical methods intended for the authentication of coconut oils are necessary. In this context, some instrumental techniques based on spectroscopic and chromatographic methods in combination with multivariate data analysis (chemometrics) have been used successfully for the authentication of coconut oils.