Characterization of Iranian Virgin Olive Oil from the Roodbar Region: A Study on Zard, Mari and Phishomi

Abstract

The aim of this study is to describe the physicochemical properties of Iranian virgin olive oil (Zard, Mari and Phishomi) cultivated in Roodbar, Gilan. There were statistically significant differences for most of the parameters (P \ 0.05). The acidity and peroxide value were in the limit established for classification as extra virgin olive oil. The oil of Zard had the highest amount of monounsaturated fatty acids followed by Mari and Phishomi oils. Mari oil proved to have the minimum value of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the highest amount of phenolic compounds and oxidative stability. The oil of Phishomi had the maximum amount of chlorophylls and carotenoids and therefore it had the highest color index. There were no significant differences between the cultivars regarding the refractive index (1.469 at 20°C for all three cultivars). According to the high content of monounsaturated fatty acids, the lowest amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids and the highest amounts of phenolic compounds as well as the results of a Rancimat assay, it seems that the quality of the oil of Mari cultivar is better than Zard and Phishomi oils and is also more stable against oxidation.

Chemical Characterization and Kinetic parameter determination under Rancimat test conditions of four monovarietal virgin olive oils grown in Morocco

“…Phenolic compounds contribute to the nutritional importance and benefit to human health of virgin olive oil and they are responsible for bitter taste and the antioxidant activity of the oil (Garc et al, 2003;Kharazi et al, 2012). Therefore the content of phenolic compounds is an important parameter which determines the characteristics and quality of olive oil (Garcia et al, 2002;Kowalski et al, 2004).…”