Targeted metabolic profiling of the revived ancient 'Corbella' olive cultivar during early maturation

Abstract

'Corbella' is an ancient olive variety whose cultivation has recently been revived. 'Corbella' olives are used to produce extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), but when harvested at the reddish to black ripening stage the resulting oil is unstable and easily degraded. The aim of this work was to study the metabolic profile of 'Corbella' olives with a ripening index (RI) below 2 and to obtain data that could help produce more stable EVOOs. Olives with an RI < 1 yielded considerably less fat. Above an RI of 1, levels of phenolic compounds, carotenoids and squalene were lower, and that of α-tocopherol increased. The most abundant phenolic compounds were oleuropein aglycone and elenolic acid, suggesting a high hydrolytic activity of β-glucosidase in the fruit. At an RI of 1.96, the antioxidant capacity decreased slightly, while MUFA/PUFA and oleic/linoleic ratios were at their highest. A similar level of stability seems likely to be achieved with olives with an RI below 2.