Effect of cultivar and year of harvest on the mineral composition of Algerian extra-virgin olive oils

Abstract

Aim of study: To evaluate the effect of cultivar and year of harvest on the content of mineral elements of Algerian extra virgin olive oils.Area of study: Technical Institute of Arboriculture of Fruits and Vine (TIAFV), Bejaia, Algeria.Material and methods: The mineral contents of extra virgin olive oils from ten cultivars during two consecutive campaigns 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry and absorption in a graphite furnace after microwave-assisted acid digestion. Principal component analysis was applied to correlate the mineral content with cultivar type and year of harvest.Main results: Mean concentrations for Fe, Zn, Cu, Na, K, Mg, As and Co in samples were observed in the range of 1.640-13.213, 1.546-32.866, 1.375-3.337, 19.666-104.720, 4.573-117.133, 0.120-2.560, 0.006-0.146 and 0.002-0.051 μg g-1, respectively. The first three principal components retained 76.25% of the variance. The determinants of the effect of cultivar type and year of harvest were Fe and Na; Mg, Co and As, respectively.Research highlights: The study showed that mineral composition of the olive oils was mainly determined by the cultivar and the year of harvest.