Fatty Acid and Phenolic Profiles of Virgin Olive Oils from Local and European Varieties Planted in Lebanon.

In Lebanon, olive oil is an integral part of its history and culinary traditions. However, the quality of this product, originating from different growing regions of the country, is rarely addressed. The objectives of this study were to compare the fatty acids and phenolic profiles of virgin olive oils produced from two local and eight European varieties, and to use these profiles as a tool for their characterization.

Plasticity of fruit and oil traits in olive among different environments.

Olive is a long-living perennial species with a wide geographical distribution, showing a large genetic and phenotypic variation in its growing area. There is an urgent need to uncover how olive phenotypic traits and plasticity can change regardless of the genetic background. A two-year study was conducted, based on the analysis of fruit and oil traits of 113 cultivars from five germplasm collections established in Mediterranean Basin countries and Argentina.

Oil Content, Fatty Acid and Phenolic Profiles of Some Olive Varieties Growing in Lebanon.

Olive growing in Lebanon plays an important role at both a social and economic level. Nevertheless, the quality of olive oil produced in the country is rarely addressed. In this study, oil content, fatty acid, and phenolic profiles were studied along four different ripening stages for 11 varieties of olives, including two clones of the local variety "Baladi," in addition to nine foreign varieties ("Ascolana Tenera," "Bella di Cerignola," "Itrana," "Jabaa," "Kalamata," "Nabali," "Salonenque," "Sigoise," and "Tanche").

The potential of SNP-based PCR-RFLP capillary electrophoresis analysis to authenticate and detect admixtures of Mediterranean olive oils.

Authentication and traceability of extra virgin olive oil is a challenging research task due to the complexity of fraudulent practices. In this context, the monovarietal olive oils of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) require new tests and cutting edge analytical technologies to detect mislabeling and misleading origin. Toward this direction, DNA-based technologies could serve as a complementary to the analytical techniques assay.

Composition of fatty acids in virgin olive oils from cross breeding segregating populations by gas chromatography separation with flame ionization detection.

Background: Recent technological advances to improve the quality of virgin olive oil (VOO) have been focused on olive breeding programs by selecting outstanding cultivars and target progenies. Fatty acid (FA) composition, with special emphasis on oleic acid (C18:1) and palmitic acid (C16:0), is one of the most critical quality factors to be evaluated in VOO. For this reason, the profile of FAs is frequently used as a decision tool in olive breeding programs.

High-resolution mass spectrometry to evaluate the influence of cross-breeding segregating populations on the phenolic profile of virgin olive oils.

Background: The growing demand for high-quality virgin olive oils (VOOs) has increased the interest in olive breeding programs. Cross-breeding is considered, within these programs, the best strategy to generate new cultivars as an attempt to improve the present cultivars. In this research, the phenolic profile of VOOs from target crosses (Arbequina × Arbosana, Picual × Koroneiki and Sikitita × Arbosana) and their corresponding genitors (Arbequina, Arbosana, Koroneiki, Picual and Sikitita) has been evaluated using a targeted metabolomics approach.

Virgin olive oil phenolic profile and variability in progenies from olive crosses.

Background: The progressive transformation of olive growing and the increasing demands for high-quality monovarietal virgin olive oil (VOO) have triggered interest in olive breeding programs, in which the evaluation of the new genotypes is the basis for obtaining new olive cultivars. In this work, the phenolic composition of VOOs from two progenies from crosses between 'Arbequina', 'Arbosana' and 'Sikitita' has been evaluated along two years.

Results: A higher degree of variation was observed in segregating population as compared to genitors.