Evolution of monovarietal virgin olive oils as a function of chemical composition and oxidation status

Abstract

Virgin Olive Oil (VOO) shelf life is determined by the varietal-specific chemical composition and principally by the of phenolic composition. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in fatty acid profile, phenolic composition, and quality parameters of nine Italian monovarietal VOOs obtained under the same pedoclimatic, agronomic and technological conditions and stored for 12 months at 15 °C in the dark. The varieties with medium-high concentrations of secoiridoids and balanced values between the individual molecules were those with the highest stability. Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures (OPLS) regression revealed that oleuropein derivatives and phenolic alcohols had the highest antioxidant activity. OPLS discriminant analysis separated well fresh and stored oils. PV, K270, tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, and oxidated oleacein were the most effective indicators of VOO ageing. Oleacein and oleocanthal decreased after storage, phenolic alcohols, oleacein and ligstroside aglycon increased.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Olea europaea
• oleocanthal
• oleuropein aglycon
• OPLS
• oxidation stability
• shelf life
• variety

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mrs. Gavina Serra (CNR ISPA) for technical assistance.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.