engleski

Tocopherols: Chemical Structure, Bioactivity, and Variability in Croatian Virgin Olive Oils

Virgin olive oil (VOO) represents a rich source of natural antioxidants, with tocopherols as the most effective group of lipophilic, phenolic antioxidants. α-Tocopherol represents more than 95% of the total tocopherols in virgin olive oil, and it possesses the highest biological activity among members of the vitamin E family. Content and composition of the tocopherols of virgin olive oil depend on several agronomic factors, as well as olive processing and oil storage conditions. In this chapter, the tocopherol homologue activity in virgin olive oil and the biological importance are discussed. Research work is reported on the tocopherol content and composition variability in virgin olive oils of the most widespread Croatian cultivar “Oblica” and Italian cultivar “Leccino.” Factors studied such as year, growing area and olive fruit ripening and their influence on the tocopherol content and composition of virgin olive oils are discussed. The effect of filtration of the oil and storage conditions on tocopherols are also examined.

tocopherols, structure, antioxidant activity, concentration variability, virgin olive oil

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