Toward the Prediction of the Total Phenolic Content of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) – A Spectrophotometric Method Combined with Multivariate Statistical Analysis

Abstract

EVOO is widely considered a superior edible oil due to its unique taste and aroma. Its consumption is associated with several health benefits, many of which are attributed to its phenolic compounds. This work involved the analysis of 203 EVOO samples using the official method recommended by the IOC (COI/T.20/Doc. No 29/Rev.1 2017) to determine their polyphenolic content. In addition, ultraviolet (UV) absorption spectroscopy has been applied to the same EVOO samples in combination with PLS regression to assess the polyphenolic content. This work demonstrates that ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy offers an efficient and cost-effective alternative.

Keywords:

• Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• partial least squares (PLS)
• polyphenolic content
• spectrophotometry
• ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: Michalis Velegrakis, Fragiskos Gaitis; Methodology: Emmanouil Orfanakis, Ioulia Karagiannaki; Formal analysis and investigation: Emmanouil Orfanakis, Ioulia Karagiannaki; Data curation: Emmanouil Orfanakis, Ioulia Karagiannaki, Vasilios Katsoudas, Stavroula Skoulika; Writing - original draft preparation: Emmanouil Orfanakis, Ioulia Karagiannaki; Writing - review and editing: Aikaterini Zoumi and Fragiskos Gaitis; Project administration: Aikaterini Zoumi, Michalis Velegrakis, Fragiskos Gaitis; Funding acquisition: Michalis Velegrakis, Fragiskos Gaitis; Supervision: Michalis Velegrakis, Fragiskos Gaitis

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by Greek national funds through the Public Investments Program (PIP) of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT), under the Emblematic Action “The Olive Road” (project code: 2018SE01300000).