Sterolic composition of Chétoui virgin olive oil: Influence of geographical origin.

The sterol profile of Tunisian virgin olive oils produced from Chétoui cultivar, the second main variety cultivated in the north of the country, grown under different environmental conditions, was established by gas chromatography using a flame ionisation detector. More than ten compounds were identified and characterised. As expected for virgin olive oil, the main sterols found in all Chétoui olive oils were β-sitosterol, Δ5-avenasterol, campesterol and stigmasterol.