EVALUATION OF VIRGIN OLIVE OIL MINOR COMPOUNDS IN PROGENIES OF CONTROLLED CROSSES IMED RJIBA 1 , NOUREDDINE GAZZAH, SAMIA DABBOU and MOHAMED HAMMAMI Laboratory of Biochemistry, UR “Human Nutrition and Metabolic Disorders” USCR Mass Spectrometry, Faculty of Medicine, Monastir 5019, Tunisia 1 Corresponding author. TEL: 216-73-462-200; FAX: 216-73-462-737; EMAIL: imed.rjiba@fst.rnu.tn Accepted for Publication December 29, 2009 doi:10.1111/j.1745-4514.2010.00462.x ABSTRACT An experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the quality of virgin olive oils obtained by intervarietal cross-breeding program. Twelve extra virgin olive oil cultivars were characterized by their chemical composition. The experimental data showed that new releases were characterized by an appreciable a-tocopherol (ranging from 60.09 to 153.97 mg/kg) and by a high content of total volatile compounds especially of the trans- 2-hexenal. Simple phenols such as hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, vanillic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid and vanillin were identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography in most of the oils. The flavonoids compounds (apigenin and luteolin) were also found. The results indicated that a considerable oil composition vari- ability can be achieved genetically, by breeding. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The olive oil characterization of the new releases is an important way to study the effect of the breeding method on their chemical composition in an attempt to select new ones with superior genotypes. INTRODUCTION Virgin olive oil is the only vegetable oil appropriate for direct human consumption without further treatment after its mechanic extraction. It is valued for its balanced and healthy composition that includes more than 230 chemical compounds. These substances also contribute to the stabil- ity of the oil (Ranalli and Martinelli 1995) and protect con- sumers against cancer and atherosclerosis by impeding the oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein and its adherence to the arterial wall (Armstrong et al. 1997; Nico- laïev et al. 1998). The concentration of each of them depends on the level and the activities of various endog- enous enzymes of olives that are genetically determined and strongly affected by the technological operations and the extraction conditions (Servili et al. 2004). In Tunisia, Olea europaea has a wide distribution, with a cultivated area of 1.6 million ha, predominantly in the center and south areas of the country. It represents an important economical and environmental species, making Tunisia the fourth major olive producing country in the world, account- ing for 210,000 tons of olive oil production per year. (DGPA/ ONH 1996; Hannachi et al. 2007) The CHEMLALI variety used in this study is the main variety cultivated in Tunisia. It is widespread in the south of the country and it’s characterized by a high capacity of adap- tation to various pedo-climatic conditions and a high level of phenolic and vitamin content, but this variety has a moderate level of oleic acid (55–64%) and is relatively rich in palmitic acid (17–22%), which makes it a very stable semisolid fat at room temperature. The duration of the juvenile period is one of the most important drawbacks of fruit tree breeding including the olive. But in the last years, the scientific progress in the meth- odologies aimed at shortening the duration of the juvenile period has been created (Lavee et al. 1996; Santos-Antunes et al. 2005). This has promoted and facilitated the develop- ment of olive breeding program. These programs were aimed at improving oil yield and quality (Bellini et al. 2002), resis- tance to disease especially to peacock eye (Spilocaea Oleagina) (Rallo 1995), rooting ability of cuttings, suitability to mechanical harvest, early bearing, high productivity and oil content (Rallo 1995). However, not so much information has been available on the effect of cross-breeding and genetic improvement on the chemical composition of the olive oil of the new cultivars. Journal of Food Biochemistry ISSN 1745-4514 1413 Journal of Food Biochemistry 35 (2011) 1413–1423 © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.