Fatty acids evolution and composition of olive oils extracted from different olive cultivars grown in Calabrian area

Abstract

This work showed some peculiarities of fatty acids profile of nine olive cultivars cultivated in a typical olive growing Calabrian area. The cultivars studied were: Cassanese, Coratina, Itrana, Leccino, Nociara, Ottobratica, Pendolino, Picholine and Sinopolese. Oils were extracted by pressure from olives collected for a period of time comprised from October to January. The samplings were repeated for three years. The evolution of the oleic acid content showed an increasing trend in Cassanese, Itrana, Coratina, Sinopolese, Pendolino, and Leccino. Palmitic and linolenic acid showed a decrease in all the observed cultivar. Some cultivars in early ripe stage showed a higher linolenic acid content than the limit established legally. From a hierarchical cluster analyses two main groups were distinguished based on all fatty acid. The same statistical results were obtained considering the oleic/linoleic ratio only, that is a constant parameter throughout the olive ripening.