Evaluation of Changes in Fatty Acid Composition in Three Different Varieties of Olives During the Course of Maturation

Abstract: olives belong to the family of olea europaea l. is a popular fruit tree. the fruit and the oilextracted from it is consumed worldwide particularly in the mediterranean regions. in this study changes in thefatty acid composition of the oil extracted from olive fruit during the course of maturation is investigated. thiswork is concerned with the best harvesting point when oleic acid the predominant fatty acid reaches itsmaximum concentration. three different varieties of olives from fars province were chosen and subjected to oilextraction. the quantitative and qualitative determinations concerned with the fatty acids were carried out on theoil and concluded that maturation of olives depending on the variety played an important role in the fatty acidcomposition of the extracted oils.