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Virgin Olive Oil: Processing, Byproducts, Quality Control, and Nutraceutical Profile II

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 3552

Special Issue Editors

Department of NEUROFARBA, University degli Studi di Firenze, Via Ugo Schiff 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
Interests: phenolic compounds; volatile compounds; fortification of food with nutraceutical compounds; food technology; food quality authentication; food byproduct re-use
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of NEUROFARBA, University of Florence, Via Ugo Schiff 6, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
Interests: natural antioxidants; nutraceutical sciences; food chemistry; nutrition and human health; phenolic compounds; extraction and characterization of bioactive molecules
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The interest in virgin olive oil has constantly and strongly increased over the last few decades because of the unique and delicate flavor and the nutraceutical properties of this vegetable oil. All of these properties have been associated with the presence of some classes of minor compounds, particularly phenolic and volatile compounds, in addition to the peculiar fatty acid composition, which is very rich in monounsaturated fatty acids. Searching for innovative processes capable of extracting virgin olive oil with higher and higher sensorial and nutraceutical properties is one of the current concerns of producers and researchers. At the same time, the possibility of re-using byproducts containing high levels of hydroxytyrosol, secoiridoid derivatives, and other phenolic compounds has recently been strongly investigated to render the olive oil production chain more economically and environmentally sustainable. Virgin olive oil also has the peculiarity of being the only food product to have a standardized protocol (the so-called Panel Test) for the analysis of sensory attributes that are used to classify samples according to the recognized commercial categories. Much effort is being made by researchers to develop chemical/statistical approaches that support the Panel Test in virgin olive oil classification and can be used to authenticate the geographic and botanical origin of virgin olive oils.

This Special Issue aims to cover advances in research on: i) innovations in processing olives to obtain high-quality extra virgin olive oil; ii) the possibility of re-using byproducts from olive oil extraction; iii) quality control, e.g., developing chemical/statistical methods for virgin olive classification according to the current legislation and authentication of the geographic and botanical origin; and iv) the nutraceutical potentiality of virgin olive oil, including the biological and health-promoting properties possessed by the phenolic compounds present in this vegetable oil.

Dr. Lorenzo Cecchi
Dr. Maria Bellumori
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • virgin olive oil quality authentication
  • byproduct management
  • volatile compounds
  • phenolic compounds
  • sensory analysis
  • health-promoting properties
  • biological activity
  • authentication of origin
  • innovative extraction processes

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 2179 KiB  
Article
Chemical Data and Relationships for a Scoring Algorithm of Extra Virgin Olive Oil’s Nutritional Value
by Lorenzo Cecchi, Filippo Conticelli, Bruno Zanoni, Carlotta Breschi, Maria Bellumori and Nadia Mulinacci
Molecules 2024, 29(2), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29020525 - 21 Jan 2024
Viewed by 753
Abstract
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a valuable product and is highly appreciated by consumers for its great nutritional value. However, to date, there has been a lack of uniform systems capable of ranking the nutritional value of EVOO based on its chemical [...] Read more.
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a valuable product and is highly appreciated by consumers for its great nutritional value. However, to date, there has been a lack of uniform systems capable of ranking the nutritional value of EVOO based on its chemical composition in terms of macro- and micronutrients (including phenolic compounds and tocopherols). The aim of this study was to propose a scoring algorithm to rank the nutritional value of EVOO samples, considering their chemical composition in macro- and micronutrients and their sensitivity to oxidation phenomena. Data from more than 1000 EVOO samples were used to assess the variability of the data, considering the selected negative parameters (free acidity, peroxide value, spectrophotometric indices) and positive components (composition in tocopherols via HPLC-DAD, phenolic compounds via HPLC-DAD, and fatty acids via GC-MS) so as to ensure the universal validity of the scoring algorithm. The dataset included samples from the main producing countries worldwide, in addition to Australia, across several production years; data were selected to represent different production realities. A mathematical model was set up for each chemical component, resulting in six variable values. By combining these values with a dimensionless constant value, the algorithm for computing the nutritional value score (NVS) was defined. It allows the nutritional value of an oil to be ranked on a scale of 0 to 100 based on its chemical composition. The algorithm was then successfully tested using chemical data from about 300 EVOO samples obtained from laboratories from different Italian regions. The proposed NVS is a simple and objective tool for scoring the nutritional value of an EVOO, easy to understand for both producers and consumers. Full article
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13 pages, 3416 KiB  
Article
Rapid Authentication and Detection of Olive Oil Adulteration Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy
by Eleni Nanou, Nefeli Pliatsika and Stelios Couris
Molecules 2023, 28(24), 7960; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28247960 - 05 Dec 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 959
Abstract
The adulteration of olive oil is a crucial matter for food safety authorities, global organizations, and consumers. To guarantee olive oil authenticity, the European Union (EU) has promoted the labeling of olive oils with the indices of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and [...] Read more.
The adulteration of olive oil is a crucial matter for food safety authorities, global organizations, and consumers. To guarantee olive oil authenticity, the European Union (EU) has promoted the labeling of olive oils with the indices of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Identification (PGI), while food security agencies are also interested in newly emerging technologies capable of operating reliably, fast, and in real-time, either in situ or remotely, for quality control. Among the proposed methods, photonic technologies appear to be suitable and promising for dealing with this issue. In this regard, a laser-based technique, namely, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), assisted via machine learning tools, is proposed for the real-time detection of olive oil adulteration with lower-quality oils (i.e., pomace, soybean, sunflower, and corn oils). The results of the present work demonstrate the high efficiency and potential of the LIBS technique for the rapid detection of olive oil adulteration and the detection of adulterants. Full article
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15 pages, 4517 KiB  
Article
Combination of Dehydration and Expeller as a Novel Methodology for the Production of Olive Oil
by Assamae Chabni, Luis Vázquez, Celia Bañares and Carlos F. Torres
Molecules 2023, 28(19), 6953; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28196953 - 06 Oct 2023
Viewed by 784
Abstract
An alternative olive oil (OO) production process has been developed based on the combination of olive dehydration, followed by extraction with an expeller press. This procedure eliminates the utilization of water and avoids the malaxation stage. Hence, no water residues are generated. In [...] Read more.
An alternative olive oil (OO) production process has been developed based on the combination of olive dehydration, followed by extraction with an expeller press. This procedure eliminates the utilization of water and avoids the malaxation stage. Hence, no water residues are generated. In this study, the mentioned alternative methodology was compared to conventional extraction methods. High extraction yields and oil recovery were obtained with our novel procedure. On the contrary, substantial percentages of by-products were generated with conventional methodology. The quality indexes (acidity and peroxide values) of the oils obtained by the combination of dehydration and expeller (dOO) were 0.4% of oleic acid and 3 meq O2/kg of oil, respectively. Furthermore, none of the applied processes affected the resulting OO’s fatty acid composition and lipid profile. Total phenolic content was up to four times higher for dOO than for other olive oils and it showed resistance to oxidation with an oxidative stability index about five times higher than that for conventional olive oils. Full article
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16 pages, 1475 KiB  
Article
Ultrasound Assisted Coextraction of Cornicabra Olives and Thyme to Obtain Flavored Olive Oils
by Fátima Peres, Madalena Pinho Marques, Miguel Mourato, Luisa L. Martins and Suzana Ferreira-Dias
Molecules 2023, 28(19), 6898; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28196898 - 01 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 732
Abstract
Flavoring olive oils is a new trend in consumer preferences, and different enrichment techniques can be used. Coextraction of olives with a flavoring agent is an option for obtaining a flavored product without the need for further operations. Moreover, ultrasound (US) assisted extraction [...] Read more.
Flavoring olive oils is a new trend in consumer preferences, and different enrichment techniques can be used. Coextraction of olives with a flavoring agent is an option for obtaining a flavored product without the need for further operations. Moreover, ultrasound (US) assisted extraction is an emergent technology able to increase extractability. Combining US and coextraction, it is possible to obtain new products using different types of olives (e.g., cultivar and ripening stage), ingredient(s) with the greatest flavoring and/or bioactive potential, as well as extraction conditions. In the present study, mastic thyme (Thymus mastichina L.) (TM) and lemon thyme (Thymus x citriodorus) (TC) were used for flavoring Cornicabra oils by coextraction. The coextraction trials were performed by (i) thyme addition to the olives during crushing or malaxation and (ii) US application before malaxation. Several parameters were evaluated in the oil: quality criteria parameters, total phenols, fatty acid composition, chlorophyll pigments, phenolic profile and oxidative stability. US application did not change the phenolic profile of Cornicabra olive oils, while the enrichment of olive oils with phenolic compounds or pigments by coextraction was very dependent on the thyme used. TM enrichment showed an improvement of several new phenolic compounds in the oils, while with TC, fewer new phenols were observed. In turn, in the trials with TC, the extraction of chlorophyll pigments was higher, particularly in crushing coprocessing. Moreover, the oils obtained with US and TM added in the mill or in the malaxator showed lower phenol decrease (59%) than oils flavored with TC (76% decrease) or Cornicabra virgin olive oil (80% decrease) over an 8-month storage period. Multivariate data analysis, considering quality parameters, pigments and phenolic contents, showed that flavored oils were mainly grouped by age. Full article
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