Oxidation Stability of Virgin Olive Oils from Some Important Cultivars in East Mediterranean Area in Turkey

Some important olive cultivars (Kilis yağlık, Halhalı, Karamani, Haşebi, Nizip yağlık) in East Mediterranean Area were studied. Olive fruits were processed on a low‐scale mill equipped with a basket centrifuge. Basic quality parameters, the content of total polyphenols, o ‐diphenols, oxidation stability (Rancimat) and antiradical activity [1,1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)] were determined in oil samples. The highest induction period (IP) was 36.42 h, found in the Halhalı cultivar (from Gaziantep province), which also had strong radical scavenging activity (RSA) (96.72% in methanol:water extract and 94.91% in total oil) in all samples. The total phenol and o ‐diphenol content for this cultivar were 495.42 and 76.89 mg caffeic acid/kg oil, respectively. The oxidation stability and antiradical activity of the Kilis yağlık cultivar (from Kilis province) was very poor when compared to other cultivar (IP; 10.40 h, RSA in methanol: water extract; 30.94%, RSA in total oil; 52.31%). In addition total phenol and o ‐diphenol content for this cultivar were 38.31 and 5.03 mg caffeic acid/kg oil, respectively.