Characterization of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Southern Brazil

Abstract

Six olive oils extracted from the cultivars Arbequina, Arbosana, Coratina, Frantoio, Koroneiki, and Picual from 2017 and 2018 harvests, cultivated in Pinheiro Machado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, are evaluated for standard oil composition parameters and bioactive constituents (pigments, tocopherols, and phenolic compounds). Multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) and univariate ANOVA and Fisher's LSD test are used to verify the effect of cultivar and harvest year on oil composition. Olive oil composition met extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) standard parameters and is influenced by both cultivar and harvest year. EVOO produced in 2018 has greater chlorophyll, caffeic acid, ligstroside aglycone, hydroxyoleuropein aglycone, syringic acid, and hydroxytyrosol acetate contents than the EVOOs from 2017. Linoleic acid, ferulic acid, ligstroside aglycone, and hydroxytyrosol acetate are the variables whose contents most contributed to the differentiation of oils by cultivar in both harvest years. Chemical characterization analyses allow for the differentiation of oil composition based on harvest year and cultivar. Metabolic quality data obtained here support the establishment of a local EVOO profile and the compounds that most contributed to treatment differentiation may serve as markers that can be utilized in determining origin, cultivar, and harvest year. Practical Applications: Olive production in Brazil is recent and is based on European cultivars which have not been bred for the local environmental conditions. Therefore, the measurement of olive oil metabolic quality will determine cultivar adaptability to local edaphoclimatic conditions as well as assist in the establishment of a standard of identity for the product and promote the development of its market. Olive oil produced in Southern Brazil shows high quality, and is especially rich in phenolic compounds. Although harvest year influences oil composition, oil from both harvests meet EVOO standards and cultivar specific metabolic markers are observed. This study provides the foundation for olive producers in Southern Brazil to seek authentication of the geographical origin of olive oil.

Evaluating Quality Parameters, the Metabolic Profile, and Other Typical Features of Selected Commercial Extra Virgin Olive Oils from Brazil

“…For instance, Zago and co-workers quantified four secoiridoids and their total contents were between 6.83 and 53.1 mg/kg (quantified based on the gallic acid calibration curve) for all of the varieties they tested [ 19 ]. Crizel and her team determined eight secoiridoids and their contents in Arbequina and Koroneiki EVOOs varied between 89.5 and 111.2 and 177.8 and 185.6 mg/kg (using oleuropein for the quantification), respectively, in consecutive harvest years (2017 and 2018) [ 21 ]. Ballus et al [ 15 ] evaluated the content of nine complex phenols (based on the oleuropein calibration curve) in EVOOs from Brazil and found contents of total secoiridoids varying from about 0.4 to 59.1 and from 13.3 to 133.5 mg/kg in cv.…”

“…Picual have been previously described. Besides variation among olive cultivars, olive oils might differ in these compounds’ contents due to fruits’ ripening stage, the extraction technologies used, and the storage practices adopted [ 15 , 21 , 43 ]. Brazilian Arbequina EVOO seems to be a richer source of lignans, when compared to Brazilian Koroneiki and Spanish EVOOs.…”

“…Borges et al [ 17 ] determined hydroxytyrosol in Arbequina EVOOs from Brazil and Spain; small quantities of this substance were found in Arbequina EVOO samples from the South (1.05 mg/kg) and Southeast (0.092 mg/kg) of Brazil. Moreover, Crizel and co-workers found that the concentrations of hydroxytyrosol were within the range of 0.45–1.21 and 0.45–1.89 mg/kg for “Abencor” Arbequina and Koroneiki oils produced in Southern Brazil in 2017 and 2018, respectively [ 21 ]. Moreover, they showed very high concentration levels of tyrosol in the same work, varying from 45.0 to 330.6 mg/kg in Arbequina VOO and 38.5 to 101.3 mg/kg for Koroneiki oils, respectively [ 21 ].…”

“…Interesting studies evaluating the composition of EVOOs from Brazil have been published [ 7 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], but they are still scarce ( Table S1 ). The first published work on the composition of virgin olive oil (VOO) produced in Brazil [ 7 ] reported the phenolic compounds (four substances), tocopherols (α-, β-, and γ-), and fatty acid composition of 17 monovarietal VOOs produced from olives farmed in the Southeast region.…”

“…Rodrigues et al [ 20 ] tested the quality of olive oils from Southeastern Brazil (from eight cultivars), also focusing on the volatile composition and sensory characteristics of the VOOs. Very recently, one sample from each of the six different cultivars from the 2017 and 2018 harvests cultivated in Rio Grande do Sul were assessed, taking into account the quality parameters and fatty acid composition, as well as several bioactive constituents (total content of carotenoids and chlorophylls, tocopherols, and phenolic compounds (19 phenolic substances)) [ 21 ]. Topics such as the storage effects on Brazilian monovarietal EVOO have only been addressed once, by analyzing 24 experimental samples (from six varieties) from Minas Gerais [ 22 ].…”