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Abstract: The influence of olive paste preparation conditions on the triterpenic content of virgin olive oils from Arbequina and Picual cultivars was investigated. For this purpose, three sieve diameters of the hammer mill (4, 5, and 6mm), two malaxation temperatures (20 and 30°C), and two malaxation times (20 and 40min) were tested. Results obtained showed that for Arbequina oils, a finer crushing level resulted in higher maslinic acid and erythrodiol content. Increasing malaxing temperature and time lead to a rise in both oleanolic and maslinic acid concentration, whereas erythrodiol content increased only for the longer malaxation time. For Picual oils, higher concentrations of oleanolic acid, maslinic acid, and uvaol were obtained by prolonging the paste malaxation time. A finer crushing level resulted also in an increase of maslinic acid content. These findings suggest that virgin olive oil triterpenic composition can be improved by regulating olive paste preparation conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]