THE USE OF LACTOBACILLUS PENTOSUS 1MO TO SHORTEN THE DEBITTERING PROCESS TIME OF BLACK TABLE OLIVES (CV. ITRANA AND LECCINO): A PILOT-SCALE APPLICATION

Fifty lactobacilli isolated from black table olive brines were evaluated for their salt tolerance, resistance to oleuropein and verbascoside, and ability to grow in modified filter-sterilized brines. A strain of Lactobacillus pentosus was selected and used as a starter to ferment, in pilot plant, black olives (Itrana and Leccino cv.) in brines modified for pH, carbohydrate, and growth factor concentrations, at 28 degrees C. The temperature-controlled fermentation of Leccino cv. olives resulted in obtaining ready-to-eat, high-quality table olives in a reduced-time process. HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds from fermented olives showed a decrease of oleuropein, a glucoside secoiridoid respo…

Factors Affecting Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Composition

ABBREVIATIONS I. THE CONCEPT OF OLIVE OIL QUALITY II. EVOO COMPOSITION AND NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES III. SOURCES OF VARIABILITY OF EVOO COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES IV. AGRONOMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING EVOO COMPOSITION AND QUALITY A. Genotype B. Growing Area and Seasonal Conditions C. Tree Water Status D. Productivity and Alternate Bearing E. Orchard Management 1. Cultivation Method 2. Training System and Pruning 3. Fertilization and Soil Management

Characterization of Phenolic and Volatile Compounds of Sicilian Virgin Olive Oils Produced from Native Cultivars

Influence of cultivar and concentration of selected phenolic constituents on the in vitro chemiopreventive potential of olive oil extracts.

One of the main olive oil phenolic compounds, hydroxytyrosol (3,4-DHPEA), exerts in vitro chemopreventive activities (antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic) on tumor cells through the accumulation of H2O2 in the culture medium. However, the phenol composition of virgin olive oil is complex, and 3,4-DHPEA is present at low concentrations when compared to other secoiridoids. In this study, the in vitro chemopreventive activities of complex virgin olive oil phenolic extracts (VOO-PE, derived from the four Italian cultivars Nocellara del Belice, Coratina, Ogliarola, and Taggiasca) were compared to each other and related to the amount of the single phenolic constituents. A great chemopreventive po…

Low Tree Vigor, Free Palmette Training Form, and High Planting Density Increase Olive and Oil Yield Efficiency in Dry, Sloping Areas of Mediterranean Regions

Exploiting biodiversity must be considered today an effective strategy to improve the sustainability of olive production systems. The evaluation of local cultivars, based on their vegetative and fruiting traits, along with an analysis of product quality, may contribute significantly to the development and diffusion of new olive-growing systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate growth, productivity, and olive oil quality of three Sicilian cultivars with different vigor/growth habit grown in four different combinations of training form and planting density. ‘Abunara’, ‘Calatina’, and ‘Nocellara del Belice’ olive trees were planted in four different int…