Antioxidant Profile and Sensory Analysis in Olive Oils of Different Quality Grades

Antioxidant capacity and sensory analysis of olive oils of different quality grades (Extra virgin, Virgin, Ordinary and Lampante) were investigated to define their possible differences useful for quality discrimination. Total phenolic content discriminated the sample Lampante olive oil (LVOO) with values (0.95 mg GAE/g) significantly lower than the other oils (1.85, 1.80 and 1.98 for A, D and E samples, respectively). The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that sensory attributes (“bitter” and “pungent”) and antioxidant capacity (expressed by FRAP and ABTS•+) are positively correlated with Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) and Virgin olive oil (VOO) categories, evidencing high values. In conclusion, based on the evaluated parameters, differences between the different olive oil categories were found. Still, they did not allow us to clearly separate the two categories of Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) and Virgin olive oil (VOO) oils.