Oil Content, Fatty Acid and Phenolic Profiles of Some Olive Varieties Growing in Lebanon.

Milad El Riachy,Rabih Ayoub,Lamis Chalak,Athar Hamade,Faten Dandachi

doi:10.3389/fnut.2019.00094

Milad El Riachy, Rabih Ayoub + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00094

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Abstract

Olive growing in Lebanon plays an important role at both a social and economic level. Nevertheless, the quality of olive oil produced in the country is rarely addressed. In this study, oil content, fatty acid, and phenolic profiles were studied along four different ripening stages for 11 varieties of olives, including two clones of the local variety “Baladi,” in addition to nine foreign varieties (“Ascolana Tenera,” “Bella di Cerignola,” “Itrana,” “Jabaa,” “Kalamata,” “Nabali,” “Salonenque,” “Sigoise,” and “Tanche”). Oil content was determined using the Soxhlet method and Abencor system. Fatty acid composition was determined using a GC-FID, total phenols using spectrophotometry, and the phenolic profile using HPLC-DAD. Results showed that variety, fruit ripening and their interaction have a significant effect on the overall studied oil parameters. Among the studied varieties, “Kalamata” presented the higher oil content on dry matter (OCDM = 48.24%), “Baladi 1” the highest oil content on humid matter (OCHM = 27.86%), and “Tanche” the highest oil industrial yield (OIY = 19.44%). While “Tanche” recorded the highest C18:1 (71.75%), “Ascolana Tenera” showed the highest total phenols (TP = 539 mg GAE/Kg of oil), “Salonenque” the highest oleacein (121.57 mg/Kg), and “Itrana” the highest oleocanthal contents (317.68 mg/Kg). On the other hand, oil content together with C18:2 and C18:0 increased along ripening while C18:1, total phenols and the main individual phenols decreased. Although preliminary, this study highlights the good quality of olive oil produced from both local and foreign varieties growing in Lebanon and encourages further investigations on the characterization and authentication of Lebanese olive oil.

Highlights

Edible olives originate from areas along the eastern Mediterranean shore in what is southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine since 5,000–6,000 years ago [1, 2]
We report the characterization of monovarietal olive oils for 11 varieties cultivated in northern Lebanon for their oil content (OC), fatty acid and phenolic composition along fruit ripening with the perspective of evaluating and valorizing Lebanese olive oil
The combined effects of the variety, the fruit ripening and their interaction were assessed for the sets of variables related to OC, fatty acids and phenolic composition

Summary

Introduction

Edible olives originate from areas along the eastern Mediterranean shore in what is southern Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine since 5,000–6,000 years ago [1, 2]. The interest in olive varieties with higher oil content (OC), improved fatty acid composition, mainly high monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and a high content of phenolic compounds, has increased due to its stability and health benefits [9, 10]. While OC is associated with oil quantity and olive growing profitability; the proportions of the different fatty acids and phenolic compounds are associated with oil quality. The amount of olive oil phenolic compounds, such as oleuropein derivatives is of primary importance when evaluating its quality, as these natural antioxidants improve oil resistance to oxidation and are responsible for its sharp bitter taste [14]. The pharmacological interest of olive phenolic compounds is well-known [15, 16]

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