Phenolic Compounds Characterization and Antioxidant Properties of Monocultivar Olive Oils from Northeast Algeria

Soulef Boussahel, Vita Di Stefano, Claudia Muscarà, Mariateresa Cristani and Maria Grazia Melilli
Additional contact information
Soulef Boussahel: Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences and Sciences of Earth and Universe, University of Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bordj Bou Arreridj 34030, Algeria
Vita Di Stefano: Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies (STEBICEF) University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Claudia Muscarà: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98165 Messina, Italy
Mariateresa Cristani: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98165 Messina, Italy
Maria Grazia Melilli: Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems in the Mediterranean, National Council of Research, 95128 Catania, Italy

Agriculture, 2020, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-13

Abstract: In Algeria, the olive tree is one of the main fruit species and plays a very important socioeconomic role. The objective of this study was firstly, to identify and quantify the phenolics of some Algerian olive oils, and secondly, to assess the antioxidant activity of the samples. The olive oils used in this study were derived from Algerian cultivars, including Tefahi, Gelb Elfarroudj, Chemlal, and imported cultivar Manzanilla and Zebboudj. For this purpose, gas chromatography—mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify olive oil fatty acids profile, while the individual phenolic compounds were assessed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HESI-MS). To verify the antioxidant capacity, five in vitro free radical assays were used. Questionable values of particular physico-chemical parameters, such as the high value of free acidity and the low concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids in oil from the Zebboudj cultivar, indicate that improvements in olive cultivation and oil production practices are needed. Gelb Elfarroudj, Tefahi, and Manzanilla oils contain quantities of monounsaturated fatty acids in accordance with EU regulations. The oil obtained from the Zebboudj cultivar is not usable for food purposes due to the high value in free acidity and the low concentration of monounsaturated fatty acids. Tefahi and Manzanilla cultivars have given oils with the best antioxidant activity as compared to other studied cultivars; this is attributable to their composition in bioactive phenolic compounds, such as secoiridoids, which play an important role in human health as scavengers of free radicals. The results are interesting for producers and consumers to promote the culture of olive oils derived in particular from the Tefahi cultivar. However, in order to improve the health qualities of this oil, the agronomic techniques essentially linked to the time of harvesting of the olives destined for oil production must be improved.

Keywords: Manzanilla; Tefahi; Gelb Elfarroudj cultivar; secoiridoids; radical scavenging; UHPLC-HESI-MS; phenolics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/10/11/494/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/10/11/494/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:10:y:2020:i:11:p:494-:d:433798

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().