Abstract
The impact of harvest period on the quality parameters, polyphenols, fatty acids, sterols, and volatile compounds of Lebanese olive oil from the Soury variety was investigated in this study. Two groups of olive oil were compared, each with a specific harvest date. HD1 was harvested in October, whereas HD2 was picked in November. The analysis of both olive oil categories showed that HD2 witnessed a significant increase in all quality parameters except K270 and a decrease in total polyphenol content from 138 mg/mL to 44 mg/mL. Oleic and linoleic acids had an inverse relation, where the former decreased and the latter increased with the harvest date’s advancement. Palmitic acid in both groups was higher than the standards set for extra virgin olive oil. The relative amount of β -Sitosterol was mainly found to decrease, while those of stigmasterol, ∆5,24 -stigmastadienol, ∆7 -stigmastenol, and ∆7 -avenasterol increased with delaying harvest time. As for the volatile compounds, principle component analysis was used on the flash GC data to differentiate HD1 from HD2. Ethanol was found mostly characterizing HD2, whereas HD1 was influenced by 1-hexanol and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal. It can be concluded that the Soury variety should be harvested early, and a delay would result in the declassification of Lebanese olive oil quality from extra virgin to virgin olive oil.
Highlights
Lebanon is home to the oldest olive trees dating back centuries
It can be concluded that the Soury variety should be harvested early, and a delay would result in the declassification of Lebanese olive oil quality from extra virgin to virgin olive oil
Acidity values were 0.31% and 1.21 % for HD1 and HD2, respectively, exceeding the limit established by the International Olive Council (IOC) for oils to be considered extra virgin (0.8 %) for the latter
Summary
Lebanon is home to the oldest olive trees dating back centuries (at least 1,500 years). For the last six years, the production ranged between 16,500 t and 25,000t (International Olive Council [IOC], 2018) This fluctuation in production can be induced by several agronomical (El Antari, Hilal et al, 2000, Stefanoudaki, Chartzoulakis et al, 2001) and technological factors (García et al, 1996; Koutsaftakis et al, 1999). Among these factors, an agronomical factor that is recognized as the one having the most detrimental effect on olive oil chemical composition is the harvest date (De La Torre et al, 1985; Fiorino & Nizzi, 1991; Koutsaftakis et al, 2000)
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