Specific Components of Virgin Olive Oil as Active Participants in Oxidative Processes
Olivera Koprivnjak1, Lanfranco Conte2
1Institute for Agriculture and Tourism - Poreč, C. Hugues 8, 52440 Poreč, Croatia
2Departrnent of Food Sciences, University of Udine, via Marangoni 97, 33100 Udine, Italy
Article history:
Received January 16, 19
Accepted June 17, 1998
Key words:
virgin olive oil, oxidative processes, phenolic substances, tocopherols, carotenoids, chlorophylls
Summary:
The oxidative changes in the chain of unsaturated fatty acids are the main problem of preserving quality and nutritive value of vegetable oils. According to numerous researches, virgin olive oil is one of the most stable oils. It is a complex system of active substances whose role in the oxidation processes is determined by their interactions and by influence of external factors. From this system we selected the most important components - phenolic substances, tocopherols, carotenoids, chlorophylls and oleic acid, and explained their importance in the oxidative changes of olive oil.
