Abstract
“Chemlali” is the main olive variety cultivated in Tunisia. Seasonal factors such as rainfall and temperature vary year to year influencing the composition and quality of virgin olive oil. This work aims to investigate the effect of the seasonal climatic variations on the quantity and the quality characteristics (free acidity, specific ultraviolet absorbance K232 and K270, fatty acid composition, chlorophylls and total phenols) of Tunisian “Chemlali” olive oil. Water and oil content increased with increasing rainfall and temperature respectively. The seasonal variations of climatic factors within the growing region did not affect the main legal quality indices of all oil samples. K232, total phenol contents and oxidative stability increased at high temperature, while K270 and chlorophyll content decreased. Key words: Analytical quality parameters, chlorophyll, fatty acid composition, Olea europaea L., rainfall, temperature, total phenols.
Highlights
Mediterranean climatic conditions are favourable to the olive tree cultivation
This work aims to investigate the effect of the seasonal climatic variations on the quantity and the quality characteristics of Tunisian “Chemlali” olive oil
The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of the seasonal climatic variations on the quantity and the quality characteristics of Tunisian “Chemlali” olive oil
Summary
Mediterranean climatic conditions are favourable to the olive tree cultivation. The Tunisian olive trees number about 57 million units covering 16000 ha. “Chemlali” is the main variety cultivated in Tunisia, covering 60% of the olive growing surface, spread from the north-east of the country to the extreme south. This cultivar, appreciated for its sensory characteristics, contributes to 80% of the national olive oil production (Baccouri et al, 2007). Into the large agricultural areas of this region, the olive is primarily dry farmed and orchard density is tuned to average precipitation. Seasonal factors such as rainfall and temperature vary year to year influencing the composition and quality of virgin olive oil. Its potential beneficial effects to human health (Krichene et al, 2007) are due to the balanced fatty acid composition, rich in monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFAs), which are more
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