article · AgriEngineering
Extraction technology significantly influences the physicochemical properties of olive oil produced from the Moroccan Picholine cultivar. A comparative investigation evaluated continuous two-phase and three-phase systems against traditional extraction, known as Alwana oil, and super-pressure extraction. Although all produced samples met the criteria for extra-virgin olive oil, marked variations emerged across the different processing methods. Oils extracted through super-pressure and traditional techniques exhibited higher acidity, peroxide values, ultraviolet absorbance at 270 nanometres, and trans fatty acids, which indicates partial oxidation during processing. In contrast, continuous two-phase and three-phase systems produced superior quality oils with distinct fatty acid and sterol profiles, such as varying levels of saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and specific phytosterols. Multivariate analysis and artificial neural networks confirmed that modern continuous extraction systems preserve oil quality more effectively than pressure-based or traditional methods.
Olive oil quality is critical for human health benefits and commercial grading. While growing conditions and olive varieties are known to shape quality, processing methods also play a major role. Identifying which extraction technologies limit oxidation helps processors select equipment that maintains the nutritional and chemical integrity of the final oil.
The findings directly inform commercial olive oil producers and mill operators seeking to optimise processing methods for Moroccan Picholine olives. By demonstrating that continuous two-phase and three-phase extraction systems produce higher quality oil than traditional or super-pressure methods, the work offers an applied, ready-to-use evidence base for equipment selection and process upgrading in commercial milling facilities.
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Olive oil is an important component of Mediterranean diet widely, consumed thanks to its numerous health-healing properties. Its quality is dependent upon a set of factors (genotypic, environmental, agronomic practices, ripening, etc). These are well documented, but little is known about the impact of extraction technology on ‘Moroccan Picholine’ olive oil quality. In this paper, physicochemical traits of olive oil (cv ‘Moroccan Picholine’) were investigated according to extraction technology namely super pressure (SP), 2-phase (2P), and 3-phase (3P) systems as well as traditionally extracted oil (Alwana Oil, AO). The obtained results revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) in terms of the studied physicochemical traits. The investigated oil samples were classified as extra-virgin olive oil. Oil samples from super pressure and AO marked by high records of peroxide value, acidity, K270, fatty acids and trans fatty acids likely due to partial oxidation during extraction. AO was marked by high MUFA, stigmasterol, brassicosterol, 2P displayed high SFA and β-sitosterol, and 3P had high PUFA, SFA, ∆7-avenasterol, and ∆7-stigmasterol. These results were confirmed by principal component analysis, cluster analysis and artificial neural networks. In conclusion, continuous systems (2- and 3-phase) produced olive oil of better quality as compared to super-pressure and traditionally extracted oil.
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DOI: 10.3390/agriengineering4040059
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