Flavouring Extra-Virgin Olive Oil with Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Essential Oils Stabilizes Oleic Acid Composition during Photo-Oxidative Stress

Salvatore Barreca, Salvatore La Bella, Antonella Maggio, Mario Licata, Silvestre Buscemi, Claudio Leto, Andrea Pace and Teresa Tuttolomondo
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Salvatore Barreca: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via L. Mangiagalli 25, 20131 Milan, Italy
Salvatore La Bella: Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 13, Building 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Antonella Maggio: Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Laboratory of Chemistry, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Building 16, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Mario Licata: Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 13, Building 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Silvestre Buscemi: Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Laboratory of Chemistry, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Building 16, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Claudio Leto: Research Consortium for the Development of Innovative Agro-Environmental Systems (CoRiSSIA), Via della Libertà 203, 90143 Palermo, Italy
Andrea Pace: Department of Biological, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Laboratory of Chemistry, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Building 16, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Teresa Tuttolomondo: Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 13, Building 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Essential oils (EOs) from medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are well-known as natural antioxidants. Their addition to extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) can contribute to reducing fat oxidation. The main aim of this study was to improve both food shelf-life and aromatic flavour of EVOO, adding different EOs of Sicilian accessions of common sage, oregano, rosemary and thyme. The morphological and production characteristics of 40 accessions of MAPs were preliminarily assessed. EOs from the most promising accessions of MAPs were analysed by gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry. Photo-oxidative studies of the EOs were carried out and the determination of the EVOO fatty acids obtained from 4 Italian olive varieties was also made. EO content was on average 1.45% ( v / w ) for common sage, 3.97% for oregano, 1.42% for rosemary and 5.90% for thyme accessions. The highest average EO yield was found in thyme (172.70 kg ha −1 ) whilst the lowest (9.30 kg ha −1 ) in rosemary accessions. The chemical composition of EOs was very different in the four MAPs in the study. No significant change of oleic acid percentage was detected in the mixture of EVOO with EO samples. The results seem to highlight the presence of an antioxidant effect of EOs on EVOO.

Keywords: extra-virgin olive oil; aromatic and medicinal plants; essential oil; gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry analyses; antioxidant; oleic acid (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: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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