Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 European Food Research and Technology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-020-03503-1 ORIGINAL PAPER Elaboration of extra‑virgin olive oils rich in oleocanthal and oleacein: pilot plant’s proposal Alfonso Manuel Vidal 1  · Sonia Alcalá 1  · María Teresa Ocaña 2  · Antonia De Torres 1  · Francisco Espínola 1  · Manuel Moya 1 Received: 12 February 2020 / Revised: 23 April 2020 / Accepted: 25 April 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020 Abstract Extra-virgin olive oil is basically used in food, but it can also be used as a source of high added-value components, such as oleocanthal and oleacein. Oleocanthal and oleacein are bioactive compounds with proven activities in the treatment of various diseases. By applying response surface methodology, oils of the Arbequina, Arbosana, and Koroneiki cultivars of super-intensive olive trees have been elaborated, under both irrigation and rainfed conditions. 289 oils have been obtained and 13 parameters per oil determined, which have been grouped into 221 models, that determine extraction performance, quality, and minor components of oils. The maximum extractable olive oil with the current technology is 89.0 ± 3.9%, with the rest remaining in the pomace. Oleacein is the component that most infuences the antioxidant capacity of oils; its activity is 5.85 ± 0.33 µmol Trolox/mg. Irrigated Arbequina produces very aromatic oils. Rainfed Arbequina produces less aromatic (18.5 mg/kg of volatile) but with a higher content of phenolic compounds (514.4 mg/kg) oils. Koroneiki produces oils with a very high content of phenolic compounds but low in volatiles. For Koroneiki, the factors that maximize phenolic compounds are: rainfed crops, mill with 4.5 mm sieve, and malaxation at 40 °C for 30 min (1307.2 mg/kg of phenolic compounds, witch 500.0 mg/kg of oleacein, and 174.3 mg/kg of oleocanthal). A method to extract oleocanthal and oleacein from olive oils is proposed, as a way to develop new strategies to improve their functional properties. Keywords Secoiridoids · Oleocanthal · Oleacein · Total phenols · volatile compounds · Response surface methodology Introduction The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is one of the most impor- tant crops in Mediterranean countries, especially in Spain, Italy, and Greece. The benefts of olive oil to human health have been associated with its well-balanced fatty acid com- position, of which oleic acid is the major component, and the presence of minor biomolecules, such as vitamins and natu- ral antioxidants. Biophenols in virgin olive oils (VOO) are benefcial in the treatment of infammation, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, atherosclerosis, microbial activity, and cel- lular oxidative stress [1, 2]. Oils rich in oleocanthal facilitate the treatment of Alzhei- mer’s disease by improving cognitive function in patients [3]. Oleocanthal has therapeutic properties in the treatment of cancer, infammation, and neurodegenerative diseases [4], and has cardiovascular benefts [5]. Oleacein is benefcial for the treatment of hypertension [6], and due to its antioxidant and anti-infammatory capacity, it is useful in the treatment of infammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis [7]. Given the benefcial efects that oleacein and oleocanthal have on health and in the treatment of some diseases, several synthesis procedures have been developed [8, 9]. Adhami et al. [10] and Angelis et al. [11] proposed chromatographic techniques to obtain phenolic compounds from oils. The aim of this work is to obtain healthy Extra-Virgin Olive Oils (EVOO) with high sensory quality and/or high phenolic content (oleacein and oleocanthal), through analy- sis of olive cultivars, agronomic factors (e.g., levels of irri- gation and maturation status) and operating conditions. For * Manuel Moya mmoya@ujaen.es 1 Department of Chemical, Environmental, and Materials Engineering, Centre for Advanced Studies in Energy and Environment (CEAEMA), Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (ceiA3), University of Jaen, 23071 Jaen, Spain 2 Department of Didactic of Sciences, University of Jaen, 23071 Jaen, Spain