Chapter 26 - Major and Minor Lipid Constituents of Cornicabra Virgin Olive Oil and the Influence of Crop Season Changes

Abstract

The study of the chemical composition of virgin olive oils of a pure variety or from a specific production area is of great interest not only in terms of basic scientific knowledge but also (i) to the local industrial sector, which is composed of many small oil mills lacking adequate laboratory facilities and qualified staff for monitoring and improving the quality of their products; (ii) to the international olive oil business, since the exportation and commercialization of Spanish oil affects many countries; and (iii) to the final consumer, who demands more information on the characteristics and properties of high-quality traditional local products. To this end, a major effort has been made in recent years by the main olive-oil-producing countries to study the chemical composition of major and minor components and their relation with oil quality, and to establish analytical determinations that can effectively identify olive oil varieties or oil produced in a specific area. In Spain some of the most important olive varieties such as Picual, Hojiblanca, and Arbequina from Andalucia and Cataluña have been exhaustively studied. Moreover, chemometric and statistical procedures that employ series of chemical compounds and/or sensory descriptors are used to characterize or authenticate monovarietal virgin olive oils. It has been proven that the ratio between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids can contribute to cultivar characterization, since it is known that the acidic profile of virgin olive oils is mainly affected by the fruit variety. Nevertheless, other major factors such as climatic conditions, cultivar irrigation and the stage of ripeness of the fruit, can affect the triglyceride and fatty acid composition.