Oxidative status of extra virgin olive oils: HPLC evaluation

A new high performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC/ DAD technique) has been developed for the quantitative evaluation of the principal oxidized fatty acids present in extra virgin olive oil. The proposed method gives a complete picture of the oxidative status and deterioration of fatty acids (present in triacylglycerols) during storage. The main advantage of this method is that it can detect and quantify the various forms of the oxidized primary and secondary fatty acids (hydroperoxy, hydroxy, keto, epoxy, epidioxy compounds) in a single analysis. Hundreds of extra-virgin olive oils were analysed and the results were used to compile an extensive data-base of the oxidized fatty acid content of the oils. Most newly-produced extra-virgin olive oils had a total oxidized fatty acid content of 4%.