The phenolic compounds: a commercial argument in the economic war to come on the quality of olive oil?

Maurizio Servili

doi:10.1051/ocl/2014026

Abstract

The quality of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is deeply related to the amount of its minor compounds, chiefly volatile and phenolic compounds, which confer the sensory note and the remarkable nutritional and biological properties of this traditional Mediterranean fruit juice. Several agronomic aspects and technological factors affect the qualitative and quantitative composition of these compounds in EVOO. The most abundant natural antioxidants of EVOO are tocopherols, carotenoids and hydrophilic phenols. The EVOO phenols represent a group of secondary plant metabolites not often present in other oils and fats. The class of the hydrophilic phenols includes phenolic alcohols and acids, flavonoids, lignans and secoiridoids. The latter group is exclusively found in the Oleacease family plants of which the olive is the only edible fruit and it is considered as the most important fraction from a biological point of view. In particular, the secoiridoids are the most relevant phenols associated to health and biological proprieties and, at the same time, they are responsible for the bitter and pungency sensory notes of EVOO. The new approach to the EVOO extraction technologies is oriented towards the improvement of the virgin olive oil healthy and sensory properties by optimizing the oil mechanical extraction process conditions.

Highlights

The marketable quality of virgin olive oil (VOO) is related to the classification of the oil according to European legislation (EC), the international olive council (IOC) and to the Codex Alimentarius, which have established three different categories of oil obtained from the olive, the “extra virgin olive oil”, “virgin olive oil” and “lampante olive oil”
This large range of variability is due to expansion of olive growing to several new cultivation areas in which the produced extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) are characterized by a low oleic acid content
Because of the fact that the occurrence of hydrophilic phenols in EVOO is strictly related to the activities of some endogenous enzymes of olive fruit, their concentration in the oil is strongly affected by the extraction conditions

Summary

Introduction

The marketable quality of virgin olive oil (VOO) is related to the classification of the oil according to European legislation (EC), the international olive council (IOC) and to the Codex Alimentarius, which have established three different categories of oil obtained from the olive, the “extra virgin olive oil”, “virgin olive oil” and “lampante olive oil”. The olive cultivar (variety), the degree of ripening of the fruit, the climatic conditions, soils and water management are the main agronomical factors determining the content and the profile of phenolic compounds of an EVOO (El Riachy et al, 2011; Inglese et al, 2011).

Results

Conclusion