Monitoring endogenous enzymes during olive fruit ripening and storage: Correlation with virgin olive oil phenolic profiles

The ability of olive endogenous enzymes β-glucosidase, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POX), to determine the phenolic profile of virgin olive oil was investigated. Olives used for oil production were stored for one month at 20 °C and 4 °C and their phenolic content and enzymatic activities were compared to those of ripening olive fruits. Phenolic and volatile profiles of the corresponding oils were also analysed. Oils obtained from fruits stored at 4 °C show similar characteristics to that of freshly harvested fruits. However, the oils obtained from fruits stored at 20 °C presented the lowest phenolic content. Concerning the enzymatic activities, results show that the β-glucosidase enzyme is the key enzyme responsible for the determination of virgin olive oil phenolic profile as the decrease in this enzyme activity after 3 weeks of storage at 20 °C was parallel to a dramatic decrease in the phenolic content of the oils.