## 4 Discussion  
It is assessed that the \"Ragusano\" cheese composition is time-dependent, especially with concern to volatile compounds [6]. However, no data are available about other con  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Sample 1** & **\(\alpha\)-TOC 2** & **\(\gamma\)-TOC 2** & **\(\delta\)-TOC 2** & **Total** & **LUT 2** & **\(\alpha\)-CAR 2** & \(\beta\)-CAR 2 & **Total** \\  & & & & & & & & & **CARs 2** \\ \hline CS15\_0 & 59.20 \(\pm\) 5.01 & 24.53 \(\pm\) 2.10 & 15.54 \(\pm\) 1.23 & 99.27 & 4.62 \(\pm\) 0.45 & 0.12 \(\pm\) 0.01 & 7.81 \(\pm\) 0.67 & 12.55 \\ CS16\_0 & 48.80 \(\pm\) 3.48 & 18.60 \(\pm\) 1.56 & 11.35 \(\pm\) 0.98 & 78.75 & 4.01 \(\pm\) 0.44 & 0.16 \(\pm\) 0.01 & 7.00 \(\pm\) 0.59 & 11.17 \\ CS17\_0 & 56.78 \(\pm\) 6.30 & 20.42 \(\pm\) 1.88 & 13.72 \(\pm\) 1.08 & 90.92 & 4.20 \(\pm\) 0.43 & 0.17 \(\pm\) 0.01 & 6.55 \(\pm\) 0.70 & 10.92 \\ CS18\_0 & 57.23 \(\pm\) 6.15 & 22.60 \(\pm\) 1.76 & 16.40 \(\pm\) 1.42 & 96.23 & 4.03 \(\pm\) 0.32 & 0.25 \(\pm\) 0.02 & 8.42 \(\pm\) 0.71 & 12.70 \\ CS19\_0 & 58.24 \(\pm\) 7.16 & 27.65 \(\pm\) 2.05 & 17.01 \(\pm\) 1.47 & 102.90 & 4.10 \(\pm\) 0.34 & 0.24 \(\pm\) 0.03 & 8.10 \(\pm\) 0.78 & 12.44 \\ CS20\_0 & 45.60 \(\pm\) 3.32 & 17.76 \(\pm\) 1.37 & 10.10 \(\pm\) 0.99 & 73.46 & 4.84 \(\pm\) 0.51 & 0.26 \(\pm\) 0.03 & 6.93 \(\pm\) 0.65 & 11.92 \\ CS21\_0 & 58.76 \(\pm\) 5.41 & 26.90 \(\pm\) 1.94 & 20.57 \(\pm\) 1.13 & 106.23 & 4.40 \(\pm\) 0.40 & 0.32 \(\pm\) 0.04 & 9.11 \(\pm\) 0.77 & 13.83 \\ \hline Range C0 & 45.60–59.20 & 17.76–27.65 & 10.10–20.57 & 73.46– & 4.01–4.84 & 0.12–0.32 & 6.55–9.11 & 10.92–13.83 \\ \hline TS22\_0 & 47.93 \(\pm\) 4.19 & 16.30 \(\pm\) 1.37 & 9.72 \(\pm\) 0.86 & 73.95 & 4.72 \(\pm\) 0.42 & 0.18 \(\pm\) 0.02 & 7.23 \(\pm\) 0.61 & 12.13 \\ TS23\_0 & 63.30 \(\pm\) 7.08 & 25.68 \(\pm\) 1.98 & 12.98 \(\pm\) 0.99 & 101.96 & 3.80 \(\pm\) 0.30 & 0.24 \(\pm\) 0.02 & 6.22 \(\pm\) 0.69 & 10.26 \\ TS24\_0 & 52.43 \(\pm\) 5.08 & 23.12 \(\pm\) 1.72 & 144.43 \(\pm\) 1.11 & 89.98 & 3.72 \(\pm\) 0.32 & 0.20 \(\pm\) 0.02 & 6.01 \(\pm\) 0.65 & 9.93 \\ TS25\_0 & 58.30 \(\pm\) 5.10 & 28.40 \(\pm\) 2.08 & 16.80 \(\pm\) 1.27 & 103.50 & 4.65 \(\pm\) 0.43 & 0.28 \(\pm\) 0.03 & 9.34 \(\pm\) 0.84 & 14.27 \\ TS26\_0 & 60.21 \(\pm\) 6.12 & 27.84 \(\pm\) 1.99 & 18.76 \(\pm\) 1.36 & 106.81 & 5.26 \(\pm\) 0.41 & 0.30 \(\pm\) 0.05 & 10.22 \(\pm\) 0.95 & 15.78 \\ TS27\_0 & 61.06 \(\pm\) 6.51 & 29.61 \(\pm\) 1.69 & 23.20 \(\pm\) 1.42 & 113.87 & 6.11 \(\pm\) 0.50 stituents. It is reasonable to assume that within each cheese variety, the conditions of milk production strongly influence the nutritional composition of the cheese [24]. Particularly, the concentrations of lipophilic antioxidants, such as carotenoids (CARs) and tocopherols (TOCs), which might undergo degradation during the cheese production step because of their sensitivity to physical and chemical factors, including air that could vary highly according to the dietary supply [24; 25]. Many researchers studied the TOC and CAR concentrations in dairy products in relation to pasture, presence of specific plant species, and relative plant maturity levels [35]; nonetheless, to our knowledge, this is the first study that reports the concentrations of these fat-soluble vitamins in \"Ragusano\" cheese produced in two different seasons. It is well known that fresh fodder is rich in LUT, \(\beta\)-CAR, and \(\alpha\)-TOC, and their content is positively correlated with the fraction of grass at the juvenile stage and to the leaf/ stem ratio in forage plants [36; 37; 38]. Other studies reported that supplementation of \(\beta\)-carotene, increasing plasma concentration of \(\beta\)-carotene and retinol in animals, can exert a positive effect on CARs' concentrations [25], even though a great variability is observed according to the different CARs' metabolisms of animal species [39]. Few studies are focused on the relationships between the animals' feeding system and the liposoluble vitamins' content in cheese.