Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jul 28;9(8):1014.
doi: 10.3390/foods9081014.

Bioactive Compounds and Quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cecilia Jimenez-Lopez  1   2 , Maria Carpena  1 , Catarina Lourenço-Lopes  1 , Maria Gallardo-Gomez  3 , Jose M Lorenzo  4 , Francisco J Barba  5 , Miguel A Prieto  1 , Jesus Simal-Gandara  1
Affiliations
Review

Bioactive Compounds and Quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cecilia Jimenez-Lopez et al. Foods. .

Abstract

(1) Background: Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is responsible for a large part of many health benefits associated to Mediterranean diet as it is a fundamental ingredient of this diet. The peculiarities of this golden, highly valued product are in part due to the requirements that must be met to achieve this title, namely, it has to be obtained using exclusively mechanical procedures, its free acidity cannot be greater than 0.8%, it must not show sensory defects, and it has to possess a fruity taste. (2) Methods: All these characteristics are key factors to EVOO quality, thus the chemical composition of these many health-promoting compounds, such as unsaturated fatty acids (which are also the major compounds, especially oleic acid), as well as minor components such as tocopherols or phenolic compounds (which behave as natural antioxidants) must be preserved. (3) Results: Due to the presence of all these compounds, the daily consumption of EVOO entails health benefits such as cardioprotective, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor properties or acting as regulator of the intestinal microbiota, among others. (4) Conclusions: Taking all together, conserving EVOO chemical composition is essential to preserve its properties, so it is worth to control certain factors during storage like exposure to light, temperature, oxygen presence or the chosen packaging material, to maintain its quality and extend its shelf-life until its consumption.

Keywords: EVOO quality; applications; bioactive substances; chemical composition; extra virgin olive oil.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scheme of the beneficial and healthy effects of the olive oil inclusion in the Mediterranean diet. Information adapted from [11,12].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of the oil extraction process focused on extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) production. The boxes with discontinuous outline refer to the obtainment of other type of oils. Modified from different schemes of [10,17].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Representative chemical structures of some relevant compounds present in EVOO.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Parameters and factors concerning EVOO quality and its preservation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Foscolou A., Critselis E., Panagiotakos D. Olive oil consumption and human health: A narrative review. Maturitas. 2018;118:60–66. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2018.10.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Oliveras-López M.J., Berná G., Jurado-Ruiz E., López-García de la Serrana H., Martín F. Consumption of extra-virgin olive oil rich in phenolic compounds has beneficial antioxidant effects in healthy human adults. J. Funct. Foods. 2014;10:475–484. doi: 10.1016/j.jff.2014.07.013. - DOI
    1. Román G.C., Jackson R.E., Reis J., Román A.N., Toledo J.B., Toledo E. Extra-virgin olive oil for potential prevention of Alzheimer disease. Rev. Neurol. 2019;175:705–723. doi: 10.1016/j.neurol.2019.07.017. - DOI - PubMed
    1. European Comission . EU Olive Oil Farms Report Based on FADN Data. L.3. Microeconomic Analysis of EU Agricultural Holdings. European Comission; Brussels, Belgium: 2012. p. 80.
    1. Rossi R. European Parliamentary Research Service. European Parliament; Brussels, Belgium: 2017. The EU olive and olive oil sector: Main features, challenges and prospects; p. 12.

LinkOut - more resources