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Virgin Olive Oil: Health Benefits and Processing

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A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods, and Novel Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 September 2020) | Viewed by 25601

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Lanfranco Conte

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Guest Editor

University of Udine | UNIUD Department of Agri Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences
Interests: food authentication; edible oil characterization; food classification; food fraud identification; polyphenols; gas chromatography

Prof. Dr. Paolo Lucci

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Guest Editor

Department of Agri Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, Universityof Udine, Via Sondrio 2A, I-33100 Udine, Italy
Interests: food authentication; food contaminants; edible oil characterization; food fraud identification; liquid chromatography; mass spectrometry; bioactive compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Extra-virgin olive oil is a characteristic ingredient of the "Mediterranean diet" that is universally recognized as a putative anti-atherogenic and cardioprotective oil. Many of its health benefits are linked to its constituent antioxidant compounds, such as polyphenols and tocopherols. However, other minor components may play a crucial role in the beneficial effects associated with extra-virgin olive oil consumption. From this perspective, the development of new analytical approaches to fully characterize these oils and to assess their quality and functional properties is of extremely importance.

The purpose of this Special Issue, “Virgin Olive Oil: Health Benefit and Processing” is four-fold: (1) to highlight the effect of the extraction process on olive oil functional compounds; (2) to evaluate emerging strategies for the enhancement of the olive oil antioxidant content; (3) to focus on the nutritional and health aspects of olive oil consumption; and (4) to report on improved methods for determining the authenticity of olive oil and its nutritional properties to allow its quality to be guaranteed.

We invite authors to submit related original research articles and reviews to this Special Issue.

Prof. Lanfranco Conte
Prof. Paolo Lucci
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

olive oil
food analysis
food composition
phenolic compounds
antioxidants
analytical methods
chromatography
authenticity
normative

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 799 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Antique Traditional Practice: Phenolic Profile of Virgin Olive Oil Obtained from Fruits Stored in Seawater

by Jelena Torić, Monika Barbarić, Stanko Uršić, Cvijeta Jakobušić Brala, Ana Karković Marković, Maja Zebić Avdičević and Đani Benčić

Foods 2020, 9(10), 1347; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9101347 - 23 Sep 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 7754

Abstract

Virgin olive oil (VOO) is a functional food specific to the Mediterranean diet and related to human health, especially as a protector of cardiovascular health, in the prevention of several types of cancers, and in modification of immune and inflammatory response. Phenolic compounds have central importance for these extraordinary health benefits. In the production of high-quality olive oils, it is very important to process freshly picked olives and avoid any storage of fruits. However, in Croatia there is a very traditional and environmentally friendly method of olive oil production, where olive fruits are stored in seawater for some time prior to processing. This practice is also notable nowadays since there are people who prefer the characteristic flavor of the “seawater olive oil”, although some people argue against its quality and biomedical relevance. In this study, the phenolic contents of VOO prepared from the immediately processed fresh olives and olives processed after storage in seawater were compared with the use of high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) and spectrophotometric analysis. The results suggest that “seawater olive oil” should be considered as a safe food of biomedical relevance, as it still contains a significant proportion of important phenolics like hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol and oleacein (e.g., 63.2% of total phenols in comparison to VOO). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virgin Olive Oil: Health Benefits and Processing)

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13 pages, 1558 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Consumer Acceptance and Quality Parameters of the Commercial Olive Oils Manufactured with Cultivars Grown in Galicia (NW Spain)

by Sol Zamuz, Laura Purriños, Igor Tomasevic, Rubén Domínguez, Mladen Brnčić, Francisco J. Barba and José M. Lorenzo

Foods 2020, 9(4), 427; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040427 - 03 Apr 2020

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3455

Abstract

Mansa and Brava are olive autochthonous cultivars from Galicia, a new olive-growing zone from NW Spanish, from which high-quality extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) are obtained. The oils obtained as by co-crushing Mansa and Brava olives in different proportions as by blending with others olives cultivars have different composition that influence in their sensory quality. The consumer acceptance of commercial oils elaborated with Local Galician cultivars was evaluated and a quality-mapping of olive oils was created. It was found that the both Local oils had good physical-chemical quality parameters. From sensory analysis viewpoint, Local-MB oils presented the highest intensity values for color, odor, taste, and flavor, and the consumers had a higher acceptance and preference by Picual, Local-MBPA (60% Mansa and Brava, 25% Picual, and 15% Arbequina and Local-MB (60% Mansa and 40% Brava) oils. A quality-mapping of olive oils indicate that attributes better scored from the consumer are high intensity for color, odor, taste and flavor, and pungent and floral series, and bitter is rejected by them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virgin Olive Oil: Health Benefits and Processing)

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13 pages, 3284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Temperature Dependence of Oxidation Kinetics of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and Shelf-Life Prediction

by Lanfranco Conte, Andrea Milani, Sonia Calligaris, Pierangela Rovellini, Paolo Lucci and Maria Cristina Nicoli

Foods 2020, 9(3), 295; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9030295 - 05 Mar 2020

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 5336

Abstract

Producers have to guarantee the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) quality characteristics reported in the Regulation (CEE) 2568/91 throughout the product shelf-life (SL). Unfortunately, due to the development of oxidative reactions, some quality indices change during storage leading to a progressive deterioration of EVOO quality. To avoid the risk of product downgrading in the virgin oil category, the development of effective shelf-life prediction models is extremely important for the olive oil industry. In this research, the accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT) protocol was applied to evaluate the temperature dependence of selected oxidation indexes as well as to develop a shelf-life predictive model. The evolution of conventional (peroxide value, K232, K270, polyphenols, tocopherols and hexanal) and unconventional parameters (conjugated trienes and pyropheophytin a) was monitored in bottled EVOO stored in the dark at increasing temperature (25, 40, 50 and 60 °C). Accordingly, for well-packed products with reduced oxygen in headspace, the best shelf-life index allowing the ability to predict EVOO SL turned out to be K270. In addition, pyropheophytin a (%) has been shown to be more sensitive to temperature changes than the secondary oxidation indices, thus suggesting its use as a freshness indicator for storage temperatures higher than 25 °C. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virgin Olive Oil: Health Benefits and Processing)

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11 pages, 1133 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of the Refining Process on Total Hydroxytyrosol, Tyrosol, and Tocopherol Contents of Olive Oil

by Paolo Lucci, Valentina Bertoz, Deborah Pacetti, Sabrina Moret and Lanfranco Conte

Foods 2020, 9(3), 292; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9030292 - 05 Mar 2020

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4577

Abstract

The impact of the olive oil refining process on major antioxidant compound levels was evaluated by means of UHPLC analysis of lampante olive oils collected at different stages of the refining procedure (degumming, chemical and physical flash neutralization, bleaching, and deodorization). For this purpose, the evolution of the tocopherol fraction was investigated by means of the UHPLC-FL method, while the influence of the refining process on the total hydrolyzed phenolic content was assessed by measuring hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol levels after acid hydrolysis of the phenolic extracts. Refining was found to have a marked effect on total hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol contents, as they are completely removed in the early steps of the refining procedure. In contrast, the variation trends of tocopherols are not always clear-cut, and significant decreases in content from 7% to 16% were only revealed during refining in four out of nine samples. In addition, five of the nine refined oils showed final tocopherol concentrations higher than 200 mg/kg, the limit imposed by international standards regarding the content of such compounds in commercial olive oils. This study supports the need for a revision of the International Olive Oil Council (IOC) standard relative to the limit established for tocopherol addition to refined oils to avoid possible legal and economic trade issues. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virgin Olive Oil: Health Benefits and Processing)

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Review

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19 pages, 964 KiB

Open AccessReview

Occurrence of n-Alkanes in Vegetable Oils and Their Analytical Determination

by Ana Srbinovska, Chiara Conchione, Luca Menegoz Ursol, Paolo Lucci and Sabrina Moret

Foods 2020, 9(11), 1546; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9111546 - 26 Oct 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3888

Abstract

Vegetable oils contain endogenous linear hydrocarbons, namely n-alkanes, ranging from n-C₂₁ to n-C_35, with odd chain lengths prevalent. Different vegetable oils, as well as oils of the same type, but of different variety and provenience, show typical n-alkane patterns, which could be used as a fingerprint to characterize them. In the first part of this review, data on the occurrence of n-alkanes in different vegetable oils (total and predominant n-alkanes) are given, with a focus on obtaining information regarding variety and geographical origin. The second part aims to provide the state of the art on available analytical methods for their determination. In particular, a detailed description of the sample preparation protocols and analytical determination is reported, pointing out the main drawbacks of traditional sample preparation and possible solutions to implement the analysis with the aim to shift toward rapid and solvent-sparing methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virgin Olive Oil: Health Benefits and Processing)

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