Partitioning of predominant lipophilic bioactives (squalene, α-tocopherol and β-sitosterol) during olive oil processing

The partitioning of predominant lipophilic olive bioactives (squalene, beta-sitosterol and alpha-tocopherol) in olive oil processing was studied for the first time using common integrated olive milling plant. 7% of the oil and 5% of the squalene present in the olives was lost in the last pomace. beta-sitosterol and alpha-tocopherol, which are mainly concentrated in the seed of the olive fruit, was recovered in virgin olive oil to a lesser extent (66%, 67%) while 10% were lost in last pomace. Thus, the loss of beta-sitosterol and alpha-tocopherol was higher than that of squalene and oil, due to nonrecovered bound forms. 19% of the alpha-tocopherol and 21% of the beta-sitosterol loss was unaccounted for, which can be attributed to degradation of alpha-tocopherol and incomplete recovery of sterols from the olive and pomace matrices. This study provides a basis for process development studies.