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. 2024 Mar 4;29(5):1141.
doi: 10.3390/molecules29051141.

Enrichment of Olive Oils with Natural Bioactive Compounds from Aromatic and Medicinal Herbs: Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant Potential

Paraskevi Yfanti  1   2 , Polyxeni Lazaridou  3 , Vasiliki Boti  2   3   4 , Dimitra Douma  5 , Marilena E Lekka  2   3   4
Affiliations

Enrichment of Olive Oils with Natural Bioactive Compounds from Aromatic and Medicinal Herbs: Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant Potential

Paraskevi Yfanti et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Olive oil and herbs, two key components of the Mediterranean diet, are known for their beneficial effects on humans. In our study, we incorporated aromatic and medicinal herbs into local monovarietal olive oils via maceration procedures for enrichment. We identified the herbal-derived ingredients that migrate to olive oils and contribute positively to their total phenolic content and functional properties, such as radical scavenging activity. Thus, we characterized the essential oil composition of the aromatic herbs (GC-MS), and we determined the phenolic content and antioxidant capacity of the additives and the virgin olive oils before and after enrichment. The herbal phenolic compounds were analyzed by LC-LTQ/Orbitrap HRMS. We found that olive oils infused with Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum, Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia triloba obtained an increased phenolic content, by approximately 1.3 to 3.4 times, in comparison with the untreated ones. Infusion with S. triloba led to a significantly higher antioxidant capacity. Rosmarinic acid, as well as phenolic glucosides, identified in the aromatic herbs, were not incorporated into olive oils due to their high polarity. In contrast, phenolic aglycones and diterpenes from R. officinalis and S. triloba migrated to the enriched olive oils, leading to a significant increase in their phenolic content and to an improvement in their free radical scavenging capacity.

Keywords: GC-MS; LC-LTQ/Orbitrap; antioxidant capacity; aromatic herbs; olive oil; phenolic compounds.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Total phenolic content of (A) aromatic plants MeOH extracts, and the hydro-methanolic extracts [MeOH-H2O (80:20, v/v)] of the untreated and infused olive oils; (Β) “Lianoelia Prevezas”; (C) “Konservoelia Artas”; and (D) “Lianoelia Kerkyras” olive oils. O: olive oil, Ov: O. vulgare ssp. hirtum, Ro: R. officinalis, St: S. triloba. a: statistical difference from; b: statistical difference from; c: statistical difference from. Values are expressed as means ± SD of four individual experiments. Means with different letter indications are significantly different (Duncan’s p < 0.05).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phenolic aglycons migrating from the aromatic herbs to the olive oils analyzed by LC-LTQ/Orbitrap HRMS.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Diterpenic phenols migrating from the aromatic herbs to the olive oils analyzed by LC-LTQ/Orbitrap HRMS.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Antioxidant capacity of the methanolic extract obtained by the selected aromatic plants St: S. triloba, Ov: O. vulgare ssp. hirtum, Ro: R. officinalis, as assessed by DPPH assay. Values are expressed as means of four experiments.
Figure 5
Figure 5
IC50 values of the selected aromatic plant species for radical scavenging. Ov: O. vulgare ssp. hirtum, Ro: R. officinalis, St: S. triloba, methanolic extracts. Values are expressed as mean ± SD of four experiments. Means with different letter indications are significantly different (Duncan’s test, p < 0.05).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Antioxidant activity of the untreated and infused (A) O-LP: “Lianoelia Prevezas”; (B) O-KA: “Konservoelia Artas”; (C) O-LK: “Lianoelia Kerkyras” olive oil as assessed by DPPH assay. Ov: O. vulgare ssp. hirtum, Cc: Ro: R. officinalis. St: S. triloba. Values are expressed as means of four individual experiments. The analysis was performed by the DPPH assay.
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