Volatile compounds of virgin olive oil obtained from Italian cultivars grown in Calabria. Effect of processing methods, cultivar, stone removal, and antracnose attack

Calabria is an important olive-growing area of the Mediterranean producing high quality virgin olive oil from a wide variety of cultivars. The present work analyses the influence of cultivars, processing methods, anthracnose attack and stone removal on volatile compounds. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was used because is easy to use, cheap and rapid. The volatile compound content of different cultivars is influenced by the enzymes involved in the lipoxygenase pathway. The effect of anthracnose attacks increases the content of aldehydes such as heptaldehyde, octyl aldehyde and nonanal. Oil obtained from destoned olives shows a greater quantity of C5 and C6 volatile compounds compared to oil obtained from unstoned olives. Oil obtained in the laboratory has a higher volatile compound content compared to that obtained commercially. Limited scale oil production have a lower oil yields but enables greater content of compounds in the headspace in the final product and thus may be a valid alternative for small agricultural businesses. Analysis of the principal components is able to distinguish different types of oil. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.