Chemical and Sensory Profiling of Monovarietal Extra Virgin Olive Oils from the Italian Marche Region.

Chemical and sensory peculiarities of monovarietal extra virgin olive oils (MEVOOs) from the cultivars (cvs.) Ascolana tenera (ASC), Coroncina (COR), Mignola (MIG), Piantone di Mogliano (MOG), and Raggia (RAG) from Marche region (Italy) are investigated. Their polar phenolic substances and α-tocopherol are analysed through high performance liquid chromatography with different detectors. Volatile substances, fatty acid composition, and squalene are analysed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) and to the flame ionization detector, respectively. Total antioxidant activity and sensory analysis were also performed. MOG showed high squalene content (on average 0.88 ± 0.16 g/100 g), high relative amount of α-copaene among volatiles, and the highest oleic acid percentage. MIG had high α-tocopherol content (on average 350.0 ± 57.6 mg kg-1) and high α-farnesene in the volatile fraction. ASC showed the highest sensory quality and the lignan pinoresinol with higher concentration as compared to the other MEVOOs (p < 0.05), which resulted in a possible chemical marker for this cv. RAG was characterized by the sensory note of almond, which corresponds to its highest (E)-2-hexenal percentage. Sensory analysis and an antioxidant activity assay performed on a set of industrial extra virgin olive oils purchased in supermarkets, highlighted MEVOOs' superiority from these points of view. Principal component analysis displays the main characteristics of the cvs. investigated.

Chemical and sensory differences between high price and low price extra virgin olive oils.

The aim of the study was to identify new potential chemical markers of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) quality by using a multicomponent analysis approach. Sixty-six EVOOs were purchased from the Italian market and classified according to their price as low price EVOOs (LEVOOs) and high price EVOOs (HEVOOs) costing 3.60-5.90euro/L and 7.49-29.80euro/L respectively. Sensory and chemical parameters strictly related to olive oil quality have been investigated, like volatile substances, polar phenolic substances, antioxidant activity, fatty acid composition, and α-tocopherol. Significant differences in terms of chemical composition and sensory features have been highlighted between the two EVOOs classes investigated, proving a generally lower level of quality of LEVOOs, clearly showed also by means of principal component analysis. Among the most interesting outcomes, R ratio (free tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol over total free and bound forms), measuring the extent of secoiridoids hydrolysis, resulted to be significantly higher in LEVOOs than in HEVOOs. Other key differences were found in the volatile substances composition, in the stearic acid percentage and in p-coumaric acid content.

Study of the combined effects of ripeness and production area on Bosana oil's quality.

The effects of olive ripeness, areas of production and their interaction on the chemical and sensory characteristics of cv. Bosana oil were assessed. The study was carried out in three areas of the Sassari province, Sardinia (Italy), at three stages of maturation. The results indicated the independence of the two factors: ripeness influenced saturated fatty acids, pigment content and deacetoxy oleuropein aglycone (DAOA) content and didn't affect the sensory characteristics, while production area influenced unsaturated fatty acids, content of vanillic acid and some sensory characters. In order to verify the interdependency of the two factors, statistical analyses (two-way ANOVA) were performed. Our study showed that a thoughtful planning of harvest times and production area could allow to obtain Bosana virgin olive oil of the highest quality. Furthermore, utilizing cultivars that maintain the properties of their oils even at late dates of harvest, it would be possible to optimize harvest times.

Effect of agronomical practices on carpology, fruit and oil composition, and oil sensory properties, in olive (Olea europaea L.).

We examined whether some agronomical practices (i.e. organic vs. conventional) affect olive fruit and oil composition, and oil sensory properties. Fruit characteristics (i.e. fresh and dry weight of pulp and pit, oil content on a fresh and dry weight basis) did not differ. Oil chemical traits did not differ except for increased content of polyphenols in the organic treatments, and some changes in the acidic composition. Sensory analysis revealed increased bitterness (both cultivars) and pungency (Frantoio) and decreased sweetness (Frantoio) in the organic treatment. Fruit metabolomic analysis with HRMAS-NMR indicated significant changes in some compounds including glycocholate, fatty acids, NADPH, NADP+, some amino acids, thymidine, trigonelline, nicotinic acid, 5,6-dihydrouracil, hesanal, cis-olefin, ß-D-glucose, propanal and some unassigned species. The results suggest that agronomical practices may have effects on fruit composition that may be difficult to detect unless a broad-spectrum analysis is used.

Volatile profiles of Italian monovarietal extra virgin olive oils via HS-SPME-GC-MS: newly identified compounds, flavors molecular markers, and terpenic profile.

This study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the commercial, sensory, and analytical characteristics of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) from Italy (Marche region), renowned since ancient times. Headspace solid-phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) was applied for the very first time to the sampling of volatile compounds of eleven typical Italian monocultivar EVOOs. Forty-eight compounds were characterised by GC-MS, some of them were only occasionally found in other EVOOs and some other were never detected before in any EVOO. Compounds belonging mainly to alcohols, esters, aldehydes, ketones and hydrocarbons chemical classes characterised the volatile profiles. The main volatile compounds detected in the EVOOs were the C6 compounds derived from polyunsaturated fatty acids, through the lipoxygenase pathway, in different proportion according to the specific cultivar. The results suggest that genetic factors strongly influence volatile formation and terpene hydrocarbons are claimed to be suitable markers of the geographic origin and genotype of the EVOO. Correlations among sensory attributes evaluated by a panel test and the presence of specific volatile compounds were highlighted for the very first time. The significance of the presence of some newly identified volatile compounds was discussed.

Influence of genetic matrix and crop year on chemical and sensory profiles of Italian monovarietal extra-virgin olive oils.

BACKGROUND: Commercial virgin olive oils belonging to the cultivars (Bosana, Carolea, Coratina, Frantoio, Itrana, Leccino, Moraiolo, Peranzana, Piantone di Mogliano and Ravece) most represented at the Italian National Review of Monovarietal olive oils (Rassegna Nazionale Italiana degli oli Monovarietali) were considered. The evaluation of the influence of the cultivar and of the crop year as well as their interaction on oil composition were statistically analysed by a complete factorial design by principal components analysis and by linear discriminant analysis. RESULTS: In fatty acids composition, the effect of the cultivar and crop year and their interaction were highly significant. The statistical analysis showed that the sensory attributes (olive fruity, grassy, fresh almond, artichoke, tomato, aromatic herbs, bitter and pungent) were strongly influenced by the cultivar. The prevalent effect of the cultivar on the sensory profile was also demonstrated by the low or absent level of significance observed in the crop year. CONCLUSION: The construction of a databank based on a large number of samples, which is available at URL http://www.olimonovarietali.it, has contributed to the reduction of the variable effects involved in the oil production process. Knowledge of the chemical and sensory profiles of the Italian monovarietal olive oils could start a certification process of these oils, thus giving greater guarantees about their origin.

Use of BNP and bioimpedance to drive therapy in heart failure patients.

The aim of the study was to verify whether the bioimpedance vector analysis (BIVA) could be a valid methodology to assess the fluid overload, whether there was a correlation between brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and the fluid overload detected by BIVA, and whether this technique could be a valid guide in the management of the therapy in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). A total of 51 patients arriving to the emergency department of the University Hospital Sant'Andrea (Rome, Italy) from December 2008 to April 2009 were enrolled. Hydration state, BNP, and caval index were evaluated at admission in the emergency department, at 24 and 72 hours, and at discharge. Vascular pedicle width was evaluated at admission and at discharge. BIVA values were correlated with BNP levels. A follow-up by phone at 3 months was performed. ADHF patients showed higher values of hydration state compared with controls. In ADHF patients, the difference between t 0 and t 72 BIVA mean values (P<.001) and between t 0 and discharge BIVA mean value (P<.0001) was statistically significant. Vascular pedicle width in ADHF patients showed a statistically significant difference (P<.0004) in compared with vascular pedicle width in controls.