Quick assessment of the economic value of olive mill waste water

Abstract

BackgroundOlive biophenols are emerging as a valued class of natural products finding practical application in the food, pharmaceutical, beverage, cosmetic and nutraceutical industries due to their powerful biological activity which includes antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Olive mill waste water (OMWW), a by-product in olive oil manufacturing, is rich in biophenols such as hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol. The amount of biophenols depends on the cultivar, the geographical area of cultivation, and the seasonal conditions. The goal of this study was to develop a straightforward method to assess the economic value of OMWW via quantification of hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol.ResultsThe amount of hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol phenolic compounds in the OMWW from four different cultivars grown in four different regions of Sicily was analyzed using liquid–liquid and solid–liquid analytical protocols developed ad hoc. Results showed significant differences amongst the different cultivars and their geographical origin. In all samples, the concentration of hydroxytyrosol was generally from 2 to 10 times higher than that of tyrosol. In general, the liquid–liquid extraction protocol gave higher amounts of extracted biophenols. The cultivar Cerasuola had the highest amount of both hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol. The cultivar Nocellara Etnea had the lowest content of both biophenols.ConclusionsA quick method to assess the economic value of olive mill waste water via quantification of hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol in olive phenolic enriched extracts is now available.

Antioxidant and Biological Activities of Hydroxytyrosol and Homovanillic Alcohol Obtained from Olive Mill Wastewaters of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Production

“…HA (80 μM) was able to protect the cells from oxidative stress but the other concentrations did not protect the L-6 myoblasts from cumene hydroperoxide, in good agreement with previously published data. 16 In this study, tyrosol, a phenol abundant in olives and a polluting waste product from the oil industry, 41 has been transformed into value-added products. In particular, tyrosol was transformed into HA and HT.…”

Sustainably Sourced Olive Polyphenols and Omega-3 Marine Lipids: A Synergy Fostering Public Health

“…In the case of olive phenolics, new green processes were demonstrated to readily obtain highly concentrated and pure phenolic extracts in two steps using liquid-liquid extraction followed by chromatography on hydrophobized silica [39,41].…”

“…OMWW is a virtually unlimited source of these valued compounds. It is enough to quickly assess the amount of hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol contained therein and then to apply the aforementioned green commercial extraction process to OMWW batches with the highest amount of these polyphenols [41].…”

Que faire? A Bioeconomy and Solar Energy Institute at Italy's Research Council in the Context of the Global Transition to the Solar Economy

“…A similar surprise was claimed by Italy's Labor Minister visiting a state of the art olive mill in Sicily on November 2016, when he discovered a new olive biophenol extraction plant (Figure ) built thanks to public–private cooperative efforts for which the research group of the authors provided scientific advice …”