FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF OIL OBTAINED FROM IRRADIATED AND NON-IRRADIATED WHOLE FRUIT AND FRUIT FLESH OF OLIVES (OLEA EUROPAEA L.)

This study aimed to investigate the fatty acid profile of olive oil extracted from whole fruit and fruit flesh of "Kaissy cultivar" olives, irradiated with 0, 2 and 3 kGy doses of gamma irradiation, and stored for 0, 6 and 12 months. Results on the fatty acid profile showed that the studied oils contained mostly oleic acid (68.15-70.80%) followed by palmitic acid (14.38-15.89%) and linoleic acid (10.34-12.51%). Generally, there are slight differences in the fatty acid profile between the oil extracted from whole olives and fruit flesh, but sometime significant (p<0.05). Also, the storage time influenced to a limited extent the fatty acid profile of both type of oils. Immediately after treatment, irradiation caused a significant (p<0.01) gradual decrease in the unsaturated fatty acid content and a significant (p<0.01) saturated fatty acid content increased in virgin olive oils.