Olive oil and quality
2002
Chimi, H.
The olives have been pressed with the same simple gestures in order to extract the good juice from the fruit, full of Mediterranean sunshine. Olive oil extracted has an amber yellow color, which is sometimes slightly tinted with green; its slightly fruity smell should never be too strong, it has a very characteristic savor. In order to ensure that all its qualities are maintained, it must be preserved by phenolic compounds as a di-phenols and placed in a closed container, away from heat and light. Its a di-phenols, as well as its composition, may a according to the variety, the year of the harvest, the region where it was cultivated, the way the crop was tended and the way the oil was extracted. Phenolic compounds are numerous and largely distributed within the plant kingdom. About twenty polyphenols were identified in virgin olive oils. The predominant Phenolic compounds in virgin olive oils from Morocco are tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, followed by traces of substituted cinnamic acids such as caffeic, oleuropein and traces of flavonoids. The exceptionally high content of a di-phenols in virgin olive oils is responsible for their good oxidative stability. Antioxidant activity of these o-di-phenols has been attributed particularly to hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein and caffeic acid. The influence of chemical structure on the antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds discussed in our papers showed that the predominant phenolic compounds of virgin olive oil have an antioxidant efficacy which decreased in the order: o-di-phenols > mono-phenols. Phenolic antioxidants inhibit autoxidation of lipids (RH) by trapping intermediate peroxyl radical.
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