Dosaggio di alfa-tocoferolo con metodo rapido in formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano prodotto in aziende a diversa supplementazione di vitamina E nella razione delle vacche da latte

Rapid method for the determination of α-tocopherol in Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese produced with milk from cows fed at different levels of vitamin E supplementation. – The authors propose a rapid method for the determination of vitamin E in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The sample was saponificated with KOH in a test tube at room temperature. Vitamin E was extracted by petroleum ether in presence of NaCl. The extract was dried by rotavapor at 45 °C, solubilised by methanol and injected in HPLC (C18 column, reversed phase). The quantitative determination was carried out by UV detector settled on 294 nm. The method was applied on samples of cheese produced from milk of cows fed rations supplemented with different levels of vitamin E. The obtained values were consistent with the expected results. Furthermore a set of samples was analyzed also with the Official European Union Method, Commission Regulation EC [2].The mean of the results obtained with the rapid method was 95% compared with the official one. In conclusion, the rapid method described appeared reproducible, simple, inexpensive, fast, relatively safe, with low environmental impact and it seems to be an important contribution for the determination of vitamin E in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.