Organic acid content and composition of the olive fruits during ripening and its relationship with oil and sugar

In this work, the contents of oil, sugar and organic acids of olive fruit samples (Domat, Memecik and Uslu) were determined by using HPLC at different maturation stages. Olive fruit samples presented a common organic acid profile, composed of four constituents: oxalic, citric, malic and succunic acids. Total organic acid content of Domat variety was found to be 4787.1 +/- 4.53 mg/100 g in January. Memecik variety had the highest value at the beginning of the ripening period (6385.08 +/- 4.90 mg/100 g). The amount of organic acid in Uslu variety reached up to the value of 10942.5 +/- 30.41 mg/100 g. The results were evaluated statistically to determine relationship between the oil, sugar and organic acid content in three olive varieties during maturation. A positive correlation was found between the total sugar and organic acid (r = 0.54, p < 0.01) whereas a low positive correlation was observed between the contents of oil and total organic acids (r = 0.46, p < 0.05) in olive varieties. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.