Extra-virgin olive oils storage: Effect on constituents of biological significance

Abstract

The high oxidative stability of virgin olive oil with respect to other vegetable oils is mainly due to its fatty acid composition, in particular, to the high monounsaturated-to-polyunsaturated ratio, and to the presence of minor compounds that play a major role in preventing oxidation. In spite of its high stability, virgin olive oil is susceptible to oxidative processes, such as enzymatic oxidation, photooxidation, and autoxidation, which mainly occur during processing and storage.