Comparative quantitative and qualitative studies of extra virgin olive oil using HPTLC, HPLC-DAD, NMR, LC-HRMS & MS/MS methods

Olive oil has a unique, mazy chemical composition that makes it a very complex and intriguing matrix for in-depth investigation [1]. Alterations in the concentration of certain constituents, dependent upon various factors, make olive oil a medley of compounds that corresponds differently in every assay even without changes in the experiment conditions. Biophenols, molecules in considerably low, yet with high impact, concentration in extra virgin olive oil, have gained increasing interest leading to a major health claim by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2011 [2]. According to this claim, biophenols in olive oil are proven to have protective effects over LDL particles from oxidative damage. However, despite the numerous studies on its chemical composition, health benefits or proposed analytical techniques, there is still a large vacancy of major significance to be filled. The present study, aiming to be the key piece missing from the puzzle, will develop a series of comparative qualitative and quantitative novel methods of extra virgin olive oil's biophenols using state-of-the-art equipment comprised by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with Diode-Array Detection (DAD), Liquid Chromatography combined with High Resolution Mass Spectrometry and Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS and MS/MS) and High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPTLC). Additionally, each technique displays both positive and negative elements, while preliminary data already available shows very promising results with high compliance between the different techniques.

[1] Angelis, A, Hamzaoui M, Aligiannis N, Nikou T, Michailidis M, Gerolimatos P, Termentzi A, Hubert J, Halabalaki M, Renault J-H, Skaltsounis A-L, 2017. Journal of Chromatography A 1491. 126 – 36. doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2017.02.046.

[2] EFSA. Scientific Opinion. EFSA Journal, 2011, 9, 2033. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2033