Volatile compounds of Algerian extra-virgin olive oils: Effects of cultivar and ripening stage

The distinctive extra-virgin olive oil aroma consists of a complex mixture of volatile compounds. We comparatively studied the volatiles of eight autochthonous monovarietal extra-virgin olive oils from the north-east part of Algeria via headspace solid-phase microextraction GC-MS. We determined the effect of ripening of Chemlal olive fruit on aroma compounds. Twenty volatile analytes belonging to different chemical classes were identified and quantified. Both quantitative and qualitative differences were found among cultivars, indicating a close dependence of the composition of the volatile profile on the enzymatic pool, directly related to genetic characteristics. Moreover, differences in volatiles composition were observed for Chemlal oils during maturation. Abbreviations: AAT, alcohol acetyl transferase; E, east; EVOO, extra-virgin olive oil; GC, gas chromatography; HS, headspace; LOX, lipoxygenase; MI, maturity index; MS, mass spectrometry; N, north; PCA, principal component analysis; SD, standard deviation; SPME, solid-phase microextraction technique; VOO, virgin olive oil.