## 3 Results  
This study has produced the first fingerprint of tocopherols (TOCs: \(\alpha\)-, \(\delta\)-, and \(\gamma\)-tocopherol) and carotenoids (CARs: \(\alpha\)-carotene, \(\beta\)-carotene, and lutein) in \"Ragusano\" cheese, a traditional Italian cheese whose identity must be preserved. Using the protocols described before, these microconstituents were determined, and Tables 1 and 2, along with Figures 1 and 2, show the results observed on the cheese samples manufactured by milk produced individually by each _Modicana_ cow at the start of the trial (T = 0) and at the last day of the study (T = 1). The extended results are reported in Appendix A as Figure A1 and Tables A1 and A2. The data grouped according to the different production seasons (winter and spring) and the mineral-vitamins supplementation highlight that the production season significantly affected all the determined analytical parameters. Remarkably, as Table 1 shows, \(\alpha\)-tocopherol (\(\alpha\)-TOC) was the predominant component amongst TOCs and CARs. We found that \(\alpha\)-TOC accounted on average for 62.24% and 57.73% amongst the total TOCs in the winter and spring cheese samples, respectively (Table A1). The average total TOC content increased significantly from winter (37.73 \(\pm\) 6.73 mg/kg) to spring (103.92 \(\pm\) 17.23 mg/kg), even if the indices ratio of tocopherols was maintained across the seasons. The winter content of \(\alpha\)-TOC (total range: 17.30-28.46 mg/kg) was nearly tripled in \"Ragusano\" samples obtained in spring (total range: 45.60-70.81 mg/kg). Similarly, \(\delta\)- and \(\gamma\)-tocopherol (\(\delta\)-TOC and \(\gamma\)-TOC) concentrations were almost doubled, and sometimes tripled, in spring-cheeses with respect to the winter analogs. The \"Ragusano\" CARs' composition showed that the analyzed compounds were subjected to variation from one season to another. Generally, their contents increased in the cheese samples produced in spring even if the increment was not so high as for tocopherol (especially \(\alpha\)-TOC). For instance, Table 1 shows a general increase in the content of total carotenoids, whose average values passed from 11.52 mg/kg of the winter to 15.38 mg/kg of the spring. Mainly, the average relative ratio amongst all the carotenoids analyzed remains almost unaffected as the seasons change. Figure 2: Biplot of 2D\(-\)graph of PCA for the 28 winter produced samples. The six variables are projected along with the first two main components, PC1 and PC2, which, in this case, account for 87.9% of the total variability. We chose to highlight with lines the shift of cheese sample coming from the same cow, before (_0 spots) and after (_1 spots) the grazing feeding. According to Table 1, lutein (LUT) and \(\beta\)-carotene (\(\beta\)-CAR) were the predominant components among the carotenoids tested and accounted for 30.01% and 63.34%, respectively, in the cheese samples produced in winter. A similar constitution of LUT and \(\beta\)-CAR was observed for the \"Ragusano\" samples produced in the spring (35.12% and 63.03%, respectively; see Table 1) which, showed the highest LUT and \(\beta\)-CAR amounts, especially at the end of the spring period. This compositional change was more consistent for LUT whose content passed from an average winter content of 3.42 mg/kg (total range: 2.11-4.70 mg/kg) to 5.33 mg/kg (total range: 3.72-7.86 mg/kg) in the spring. Peculiarity, the \"Ragusano\" compositional variability in \(\alpha\)-carotene (\(\alpha\)-CAR) from winter (total range: 0.50-0.99 mg/kg) to spring (total range: 0.12-0.48 mg/kg) showed a decrease in spring samples.