Premium
Preliminary chemical characterization of Tunisian monovarietal virgin olive oils and comparison with Sicilian ones
Author(s) -
Baccouri Olfa,
Cerretani Lorenzo,
Bendini Alessandra,
Caboni Maria Fiorenza,
Zarrouk Mokhtar,
Pirrone Luigi,
Miled Douja Daoud Ben
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
european journal of lipid science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.614
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1438-9312
pISSN - 1438-7697
DOI - 10.1002/ejlt.200700132
Subject(s) - sicilian , chemical composition , olive oil , ripeness , food science , biology , botany , chemistry , ripening , philosophy , linguistics , organic chemistry
Work was carried out on the characterization of monovarietal virgin olive oils (VOO) from Tunisia and Sicily (Italy). The two main Tunisian VOO (cvv. Chétoui of the North and cv. Chemlali grown in the Center and some regions of the South) and three principal Sicilian VOO (cvv. Nocellara del Belice, Biancolilla and Cerasuola) were studied. Moreover, the Chétoui oils were tested in a rain‐fed control and an irrigation regime. All olive samples were picked at three different stages of ripeness. Analyses of major components (fatty acids and triacylglycerols) and minor ones (squalene, tocopherols and phenolic compounds) were carried out. Chétoui oils had a higher level of phenolic compounds followed by Chemlali. Generally, in the Sicilian oils these natural antioxidant contents were lower. These preliminary results indicate that it was possible to classify the Tunisian and Sicilian oils tested in their original growing area based on their chemical composition.