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Enhancement of Antioxidants in Olive Oil by Foliar Fertilization of Olive Trees

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society

Abstract

Oxidative stability (OS) of virgin olive oil is affected by different antioxidants whose levels may be influenced by nutrients availability. Changes in OS of virgin olive oil and antioxidants levels were evaluated according to foliar application of six nutrient-based treatments: T1 (rich in nitrogen), T2 (rich in boron, magnesium, sulfur and manganese), T3 (rich in phosphorus and potassium), T4 (rich in phosphorus and calcium), T5 (application of T1 and T2) and T6 (application of T1, T2, T3 and T4). The foliar applications were carried out during two successive growing seasons and oils were extracted and analyzed at the end of the experiment (after 2 years). T3 and T6 treatments improved oil stability by increasing the content of antioxidants, while T2 and T4 affected negatively the antioxidant profile of oils. Measured correlations between OS and compositional variables showed that total phenols had the highest value (R = 0.937, p < 0.001), followed by α-tocopherol (R = 0.775, p < 0.001) and oleic/linoleic ratio (R = 0.625, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that the changing levels of antioxidant compounds, due to fertilization, may be used to obtain oils with the highest quality.

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Abbreviations

PAL:

Phenylalanine ammonium lyase

PPO:

Polyphenol oxidase

POD:

Peroxidase

EVOO:

Extra virgin olive oil

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Tunisia. Special thanks go to the members of the project VRR (Valorization of Research Results) (NatSub-TUNOIL 2012-2014). We thank also the members of UR03/ES08 “Nutrition et Désordres Métaboliques”, and the Olive Tree Institute (Sousse, Tunisia) for its assistance during treatments application and for its support to this research. Part of this work was carried out in the Tunisian Board of Olive Oil (ONH). We express our sincere thanks to the members of the ONH for their technical assistance.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biochemistry, UR ‘Human Nutrition and Metabolic Disorders’, Faculty of Medicine, University of Monastir, 5019, Monastir, Tunisia

    Meriem Tekaya, Beligh Mechri & Mohamed Hammami

  2. Laboratory of Ecophysiology, Olive Tree Institute, Sousse, Tunisia

    Amani Bchir & Hechmi Cheheb

  3. Agronomic Research Team, Agronutrition, Activestre Park, 31390, Carbonne, France

    Faouzi Attia

  4. Tunisian Board of Olive Oil (ONH), Sousse, Tunisia

    Mohamed Daassa

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  1. Meriem Tekaya
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  2. Beligh Mechri
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Correspondence to Meriem Tekaya.

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Tekaya, M., Mechri, B., Bchir, A. et al. Enhancement of Antioxidants in Olive Oil by Foliar Fertilization of Olive Trees. J Am Oil Chem Soc 90, 1377–1386 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-013-2286-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-013-2286-0

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