Summary of interesting research results – Part 9admin | December 19, 2010
Moderate or intensive use of olive oil by 6,947 people aged 65+ was associated with slower age related declines in visual memory.
Berr et al. (2009) Olive oil and cognition: Results from the 3-city study. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 28, 357-364.
Extensive review of adherence to the Mediterranean diet on hypertension, cardiovascular risk, body-weight, cancer risk and rheumatoid arthritis.
Perez-Lopez et al. (2009) Effects of the Mediterranean diet on longevity and age-related morbid conditions. Maturitas, 64, 67-79.
The incidence of obesity in 613 Spaniards was lower if they consumed olive oil or mixtures of olive and sunflower oil compared with when only sunflower oil was consumed.
Soriguer et al. (2009) Incidence of obesity is lower in persons who consume olive oil. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63, 1371-1374.
The solid fraction that develops in olive oil when chilled to refrigerator temperature contains a higher proportion of saturated fats and lower levels of polyphenols and tocopherol than the fraction that remains liquid. The liquid fraction contains more mono and polyunsaturated fats than the original oil. Both liquid and solid fractions had similar oxidative stabilities.
Jansen and Birch (2009) Composition and stability of olive oil following partial crystallization. Food Research International 42, 826-831.
Destoning fruit prior to malaxation resulted in oils with higher polyphenols and C6 aldehydes (grassy flavoured compounds). This is because the pulp contains most of the polyphenols and flavour, and the stone contains most of the enzymes which degrade these during malaxation.
Servili et al. (2007) Effect of olive stoning on the volatile and phenolic composition of virgin olive oil. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 55, 7028–7035
The performance of 15 proposed crosses between Arbequina, Picual and Frantoio clones grown in Cordoba, Spain were presented. Most crosses had higher oil content (up to 6%) than their parents. However, despite being ‘mid field’ in terms of oil content, uncrossed Arbequina showed the desirable characteristics of very low fruit removal force and a lengthy ripening period.
De la Rosa et al. (2008) Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, 59: 46-51.
Saline irrigation applied to mature Picual trees over an 8 year period did not effect shoot growth, fruit size or accumulated oil yield. The authors stessed the role of leeching of salts from the rootzone by natural rainfall on their results.
Melgar et al. (2009) Long term responses of olive trees to salinity. Agricultural Water Management 96, 1105-1113.