Bioactive components in virgin olive oils. Analysis of free pentacyclic triterpenic acids in virgin olive oils by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography

A new analytical method for quantification of free pentacyclic triterpenic acids, present in virgin olive oils, was developed: solid-phase extraction on anion-exchange cartridge (SAX) as purification and concentration steps, followed by reversed phase HPLC equipped with a photodiode array detector (DAD), for separation and quantitative determination, were utilized. The method was validated for accuracy and precision. Data for virgin olive oils coming from the most common olive cultivars in Italy, Greece, Spain, Tunisia obtained by the described method are presented. Moreover a preliminary study on the content of free pentacyclic triterpenic acids present in different commercial categories of olive oils (lampant, olive and pomace oils) is also shown.