Dependence of Fatty-Acid Composition of Edible Oils on Their Enrichment in Olive Phenols

Olive phenol extracts from waste from olive-oil production (alperujo) have been obtained by microwave-assisted extraction and used for edible oil enrichment. The extracts as such or after extractant removal were used to enrich edible oils of different fatty acid composition by liquid-liquid or solid-liquid extraction, respectively. The distribution ratios of the phenols in the different oils [olive-orujo (the waste of milled olives from which low-quality oil is obtained), sunflower, high oleic-acid content sunflower, coconut, and linseed] showed a given order as a function of phenol polarity and molecular weight, with higher distribution factors for more polar and lower molecular-weight phenols. Concerning oil composition, those oils with higher concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids yielded higher phenol distribution factors; oils with higher concentrations of saturated fatty acids yielded lower distribution factors.