POLAR COMPOUND CONCENTRATIONS IN VIRGIN OILS FROM STORED CULTIVAR PICUAL OLIVE FRUITS

Olive fruits (Olea europaea cv. Picual) were stored for up to 60 days under five different storage conditions: three in controlled atmosphere at 5-degrees-C (air + 3% CO2; 5% O2 + 3% CO2; 5% O2 + < 1% CO2) and two in air (one at environmental temperature (between 6 and 17-degrees-C) and the other in cold room at 5-degrees-C). After conservation, the oils were extracted from the fruits and nonpolar compounds (mainly nonaltered triglycerides) and polar compounds (triglyceride polymers, oxidized triglyceride monomers, diglycerides, monoglycerides, and fatty acids) were determined. Polar compounds were determined by high-performance size exclusion chromatography after nonaltered compounds were discarded by column chromatography. The results demonstrated that storage of olive fruits at 5-degrees-C produced a lesser amount of polar compounds in the oils extracted from them, compared to classical conservation (environmental temperature). At 5-degrees-C neither increasing CO2 to 3% nor decreasing O2 to 5% affords additional advantages as compared to storage in air.