Conservation of native wild ivory-white olives from the MEDES islands natural reserve to maintain virgin olive oil diversity
Author
López-Yerena, Anallely
Ninot, Antònia
Lozano-Castellón, Julián
Escribano-Ferrer, Elvira
Romero-Aroca, Agustí J.
Belaj, Angjelina
Vallverdú-Queralt, Anna
Lamuela-Raventós, Rosa M.
Publication date
2020-10-17ISSN
2076-3921
Abstract
Food diversity, and in particular genetic diversity, is being lost at an alarming rate. Protection
of natural areas is crucial to safeguard the world’s threatened species. The Medes Islands (MI), located
in the northwest Mediterranean Sea, are a protected natural reserve. Wild olive trees also known as
oleasters make up part of the vegetation of the Meda Gran island. Among them, in 2012, a wild albino
ivory-white olive tree with fruit was identified. Fruits were collected from this tree and their seeds
were first sown in a greenhouse and then planted in an orchard for purposes of ex situ preservation.
Seven out of the 78 seedling trees obtained (12%) produced ivory-white fruits. In autumn 2018,
fruits from these trees were sampled. Although the fruits had low oil content, virgin olive oil with
unique sensory, physicochemical, and stability characteristics was produced. With respect to the
polyphenols content, oleacein was the main compound identified (373.29 ± 72.02 mg/kg) and the
oleocanthal was the second most abundant phenolic compound (204.84 ± 52.58 mg/kg). Regarding
pigments, samples were characterized by an intense yellow color, with 12.5 ± 4.6 mg/kg of chlorophyll
and 9.2 ± 3.3 mg/kg of carotenoids. Finally, oleic acid was the main fatty acid identified. This study
explored the resources of the natural habitat of the MI as a means of enrichment of olive oil diversity
and authenticity of this traditional Mediterranean food
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
663/664 - Food and nutrition. Enology. Oils. Fat
Pages
13
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Antioxidants
Citation
López-Yerena, Anallely, Antònia Ninot, Julián Lozano-Castellón, Elvira Escribano-Ferrer, Agustí J. Romero-Aroca, Angjelina Belaj, Anna Vallverdú-Queralt, and Rosa M. Lamuela-Raventós. 2020. "Conservation Of Native Wild Ivory-White Olives From The MEDES Islands Natural Reserve To Maintain Virgin Olive Oil Diversity". Antioxidants 9 (10): 1009. doi:10.3390/antiox9101009.
Grant agreement number
MINECO/Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad/AGL2016-75329-R/ES/EFECTO DE LOS POLIFENOLES DE LA DIETA EN LA SENSIBILIDAD A LA INSULINA, MARCADORES DE INFLAMACION Y EN LA INCIDENCIA DE LA DIABETES TIPO II/
MINECO/Programa Estatal de promoción del talento y su empleabilidad en I+D+I/RYC-2016-19355/ES/ /
Program
Fructicultura
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2811]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/