Evaluation of Phytochemical and Antioxidant Properties of 15 Italian Olea europaea L. Cultivar Leaves

摘要

Olive leaf extracts are of special interest due to their proven therapeutic effects. However,they are still considered a by-product of the table olive and the oil industries. In order to learnpossible ways of exploiting this waste for health purposes, we investigated the phytochemical profilesand antioxidant activities in the leaves of 15 Italian Olea europaea L. cultivars grown in the samepedoclimatic conditions. The phenolic profiles and amounts of their seven representative compoundswere analyzed using HPLC ESI/MS-TOF. The antioxidant activities were determined using threedifferent antioxidant assays (DPPH, ORAC, and superoxide anion scavenging assay). Wide ranges oftotal phenolic content (11.39–48.62 g GAE kg?1 dry weight) and antioxidant activities (DPPH values:8.67–29.89 μmol TE mg?1 dry weight, ORAC values: 0.81–4.25 μmol TE mg?1 dry weight, superoxideanion scavenging activity values: 27.66–48.92 μmol TE mg?1 dry weight) were found in the cultivars.In particular, the cultivars Itrana, Apollo, and Maurino, showed a high amount of total phenols andantioxidant activity, and therefore represent a suitable natural source of biological compounds for usein terms of health benefits.