Chemical characterisation and antioxidant activity of Spanish-style green olives of the Azerradj and Sigoise cultivars

9 Pa´ginas.-- 4 Tablas.-- 1 FiguraThe chemical composition and the antioxidant activity of two Algerian olive cultivars (Azerradj and Sigoise) elaborated as Spanish-style table olives were studied. The pH and the titratable acidity followed the same general pattern during the fermentation process for both cultivars but Sigoise reached higher titratable acidity and lower pH values. Both varieties exhibited a high total phenolic content of 5382.7and 6754.3mgGAE/100g and a total flavonoid of 424.6 and 568.5mgRE/100g for the raw fruit of Azerradj and Sigoise, respectively, but decreased a 55.2 - 66.26% after 120 days of fermentation. The alpha-tocopherol decreased along the elaboration process while the beta and gamma-tocopherols remained constant. The losses of polyphenols and tocopherols were well correlated with the dropping of DPPH antiradical and the ferrous chelating activity during the processing. The fatty acid content was less affected by the processing than the other components without significant changes. The results of this work revealed that Sigoise cultivar, the most used, showed better nutritional values and suitability to the Spanish-style processing than Azerradj variety. However, table olives from both varieties can still be considered as a functional food with high amounts of bioactive compounds involved in health benefits.The authors wish to thank the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for sponsoring this work. The authors are grateful to the staff of the KHODJA & CO Company, Seddouk (Bejaia, Algeria), for providing the samples.Peer reviewe