Pigments profile in monovarietal virgin olive oils from various Italian olive varieties

This paper presents the investigation of the chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments composition in monovarietal virgin olive oils produced from the five main olive varieties (Minuta, Ottobratica, Calabrese, Ogliarola, Baddarica) cultivated in Sicily (southern Italy), from four main olive varieties (Dolce Agogia, Moraiolo, Leccino, Frantoio) cultivated in Umbria (central Italy), and from three main olive varieties (Leccino, Oliva Nera di Collecorto, Noccioluta) cultivated in Molise (central Italy). Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography using a C-30 column with photodiode array detection was used for pigments analyses. In all, 19 compounds were identified and quantified in 60 olive oils samples. The qualitative pigments pattern was similar among the varieties investigated, whereas quantitative differences were found among the different cultivars; among the varieties investigated in this work, the oils from Umbria showed the highest pigment content (34.19 ppm in average), followed by the oils from Molise (18.61 ppm in average) and the oils from Sicily which showed the lowest pigment contents (13.38 ppm in average). In general, pheophytin a was the major component (range 0.49–19.42 ppm), followed by β-carotene (range 1.27–9.30 ppm) and lutein (range 0.44–5.12 ppm). Those differences may be due to genetic factors and/or geographical differences. Moreover, auroxanthin was detected for the first time in olive oils and was detected only in olive oils from Umbria and Molise regions. The ratio between the two isochromic pigment fractions, namely the ratio between the chlorophyll and carotenoid fractions showed an average value close to unity. The lutein/β-carotene ratio was less than one in the majority of the cases. These parameters, along with other analytical parameters, could be used as indicators of typicality in olive oils. The presence of a specific pigment profile in olive oils could infact be used to guarantee the genuineness of the product, since the quality control of food requires a precise knowledge of the pigments composition of the original products.