The phenolic compounds: a commercial argument in the economic war to come on the quality of olive oil?

The quality of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is deeply related to the amount of its minor compounds, chiefly volatile and phenolic compounds, which confer the sensory note and the remarkable nutritional and biological properties of this traditional Mediterranean fruit juice. Several agronomic aspects and technological factors affect the qualitative and quantitative composition of these compounds in EVOO. The most abundant natural antioxidants of EVOO are tocopherols, carotenoids and hydrophilic phenols. The EVOO phenols represent a group of secondary plant metabolites not often present in other oils and fats. The class of the hydrophilic phenols includes phenolic alcohols and acids, flavonoids, lignans and secoiridoids. The latter group is exclusively found in the Oleacease family plants of which the olive is the only edible fruit and it is considered as the most important fraction from a biological point of view. In particular, the secoiridoids are the most relevant phenols associated to health and biological proprieties and, at the same time, they are responsible for the bitter and pungency sensory notes of EVOO. The new approach to the EVOO extraction technologies is oriented towards the improvement of the virgin olive oil healthy and sensory properties by optimizing the oil mechanical extraction process conditions.