Fatty Acids, Sterols, Polyphenols, and Chlorophylls of Olive Oils Obtained from Tunisian Wild Olive Trees (Olea europaea L. Var. Sylvestris)

Olive (Olea europaea L.) includes cultivated olive trees (var. europaea) and wild olive trees or oleaster (var. sylvestris) as two botanical varieties. These olive varieties were widely spread in the Mediterranean Region. The aim of this study was to determine fatty acid compositions, sterols, polyphenols, and chlorophylls of oils obtained from 12 wild olive trees from Northern Tunisia. Two dominated oil cultivars in Tunisia (Chetoui and Chemlali) were also used to compare results. The fatty acid methyl ester and the sterol compositions were analyzed using gas-liquid chromatography and thin layer chromatography methods, respectively. The polyphenols and chlorophylls were determined using the calorimetrical method. Results indicated that oils extracted from wild olives displayed good balanced fatty acid compositions, sterols, polyphenols, and chlorophylls. Qualitatively, for wild and cultivated olive oils, the oil has an identical composition, whereas the quantitative variation showed that some wild trees ...