Impact of several physical treatments on the improvement of some quality parameters of crude olive oil

In this study, fresh olive oil was exposed to oxidation followed by elution at room temperature through an adsorbent packed in the glass column (10 x 75 cm) loaded with one of the following beds: activated charcoal, calcium chloride (CaCl2), alumina (Al2O3), bentonite, Arabic gum, and silica gel to investigate the effect of using adsorbents on the quality improvement of oxidised olive oil. The used ratio of adsorbent on oxidised olive oil was 1:5. The results show that the peroxide value (PV) of oxidised olive oil eluted through silica gel improved significantly by 22.6% (from 32.39 to 25.06 meq/kg) and for free fatty acids (FFA %) the improvement was 45.37% (from 1.675 to 0.915 %). The PV of eluted oxidised olive oil through Arabic gum and CaCl 2 was significantly improved by 45.08% and 25.65%, respectively and for FFAs (%) were 40.0% and 31.64%, respectively. Elution of oxidised olive oil through other adsorbents showed different results on FFA (%) and PV. Elution of oxidised olive oil through tested adsorbents exhibited a negative impact on the total phenolics and vitamin E contents. Different responses on specific absorption coefficient at 232, and 270 nm were observed for the eluted olive oil through used adsorbents.