Ricerc@Sapienza

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) phenols represent a significant part of the intake of antioxidants and bioactive compounds in the Mediterranean diet. In particular, hydroxytyrosol (HTyr), tyrosol (Tyr), and the secoiridoids oleacein and oleocanthal play central roles as anti-inflammatory, neuro-protective and anti-cancer agents. These compounds cannot be easily obtained via chemical synthesis, and their isolation and purification from EVOO is cumbersome. Indeed, both processes involve the use of large volumes of organic solvents, hazardous reagents and several chromatographic steps.

An analytical method for determining seleno-methionine (SeMet), methyl-seleno-cysteine and seleno-cystine in extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) was developed and validated. EVOO sample (15 g) was diluted with hexane, extracted with methanol/water 80:20 (v/v), and cleaned up by a reversed phase/strong cation exchange solid phase extraction. Analysis was performed by chiral hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A new electroanalytical method has been developed for the determination of polar antioxidant compounds in
extra virgin olive oils. This method is based on the extraction of polar antioxidant compounds from extra-virgin
olive oils by means of a deep eutectic solvent and their determination by a modified screen-printed electrode
platform. The platform sensitivity was increased by modifying the working electrode with MWCNT and TiO2
nanoparticles as modifiers and Nafion as a binder. The platform showed very good sensitivity in detecting polar