Antioxidant activity of dried green olives (Carolea cv.)

The main objective of this paper was to evaluate the variation of qualitative parameters in dried olivesand brined dried olives. Physical and chemical analyses and an investigation of new formed antioxidantswere carried out on samples before and after treatments. The results of analyses reported a decreasedcontent of total phenolic compounds after drying in both typologies of olives, with the biggest reductionat medium temperature. On the other hand, higher drying temperature increased the total antioxidantcapacity of olives and this is probably related to the new formation of melanoidins. A further fractionationof these compounds confirmed its contribution to the overall reducing property of the extracts ofdried olives. Brined olives were instead characterized by a lower amount of antioxidant constituents,particularly phenolics. They decreased in olive pulp due to its osmotic release in the brine duringfermentation and successively by the oxidative reaction after drying.