Olive
oil is an important food for people the countries surrounding the Mediterranean
Sea and the presence of biologically important minor constituents such as high
content of healthy monounsaturated fatty acid (FA). Virgin olive oil (VOO) is
valued for its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, and is resistant
to oxidation due to presence of high monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFAs) and low
polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) content. The fatty acid composition of olive
oils is influenced by many factors including, climate conditions, geographic
area, cultivar, fruit ripeness and agricultural practices. The health benefits
of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) consumption have been related to its
well-balanced FA composition. Major FAs in olive oils are oleic (55–85%),
palmitic (7.5–20%), linoleic (7.5–20%), stearic (0.5–5%), palmitoleic
(0.3–3.5%), and linolenic (0.0–1.5%) acids, and traces of myristic, arachidic,
and margaric acids have also been found. Oleic acid is one of the most
important FAs in olive oils due to having the nutritional wealth and support
for oxidative stability. In consequence, the olive oils differ in composition
of fatty acid mainly depending on variety, maturity index and growing region.
Therefore, this review may contribute good information about the effect of
these principal factors on the fatty acid composition of olive oils.
Primary Language | English |
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Subjects | Food Engineering |
Journal Section | Article |
Authors | |
Publication Date | November 30, 2017 |
Published in Issue | Year 2017 Volume: 1 Issue: 2 |
Eurasian Journal of Food Science and Technology (EJFST) e-ISSN: 2667-4890 Web: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/ejfst e-mail: foodsciencejournal@gmail.com