Physical and chemical characteristics of five Turkish olive (Olea europea L.) varieties and their oils

Olive varieties from different locations in Turkey and their natural oils which were obtained using traditional methods were used. Five olive samples were considered for their moisture, crude oil, crude protein, crude ash, crude energy, crude fiber, pH and alcohol-soluble extract. Olives contained approximately 17.7 %-43.5 % olive oil. The crude fiber contents of olive fruits were found to be 5.5 % (Gemlik), 7.0 % (Kilis), 3.6 % (Uslu), 4.2 % (Tirilye) and 5.6 (Ayvalik). The mineral contents of several olive varieties were determined by ICP-AES and found to be excellent. Olives were found to be rich in Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na and P minerals. Also, K, Na and P contents of the Gemlik variety were found higher than those of other varieties. The refractive index and density values of the Uslu variety were found to be high and the other varieties had similar values. Oleic acid (65.7 %- 83.6 %) was present in the highest concentration, followed by palmitic (8.1-15.2 %), linoleic (3.5-15.5 %), stearic (2.0-5.6 %) and linolenic (0.1-3.0 %). The total amount of phenols among olive varieties was different. The total phenol content as gallic and catechic acid equivalent in all oil samples ranged from 22.5 to 97.1 mg/kg and 12.3 to 98.7 mg/kg, respectively. The Kilis variety of olives had the lowest total phenol value when compared to the other varieties.