Wadir M.V. Marchesielloa, Carmelo Coppolinoa, Micaela Gallettaa, Marina Russob, Francesco Cacciolaa, Maurizio Quintoc, Paola Dugod,b, Luigi Mondellod,b

aDipartimento di Scienze biomediche, odontoiatriche e delle immagini morfologiche e funzionali, Università degli Studi di Messina, 98100 Messina, Italy;
bMessina Institute of Technology C/O Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche, Farmaceutiche ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Messina, 98100 Messina, Italy;
cDipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimenti, Risorse Naturali e Ingegneria (DAFNE), Università degli Studi di Foggia, 71121 Foggia, Italy;
dChromaleont S.R.L., C/O Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche, Farmaceutiche ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Messina, 98100 Messina, Italy.

The olive oil industry is currently facing a period of remarkable expansion, largely as a result of the high value placed on olive oil as a high-nutritional food product on a global scale. The industrial olive oil production generates significant quantities of solid waste and dark liquid effluents, involving respectively olive pomace (OP), a solid waste primarily composed of water, seeds, and pulp, and olive oil mill wastewaters (OOMW), which are known for their dark color and high concentrations of organic carbon, particularly phenols and polyphenols. These matrices can potentially act as environmental pollutants due to their phytotoxic and antimicrobial properties if not properly managed [1,2]. Therefore, particular attention has been paid to the valorization and recycling of these by-products due to their richness in bioactive compounds, including phenolic and lipophenolic compounds, which have important antioxidant properties that could be used in the production of new co-products with dual benefits from both the environmental and economic point of view. The identification and quantification of bioactive compounds in olive oil by-products after their extraction and recovery presents a significant challenge in terms of accuracy and precision, which are critical factors to achieve due to the complexity of the matrices themselves. 

This study presents a sensitive and reliable analytical method for the qualitative and quantitative characterization of bioactive compounds (polyphenols and lipophenols) in OMWW and OP samples, utilizing high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector and mass spectrometry through an electrospray ionization interface (HPLC-PDA-ESI/MS). The method was validated by assessing parameters such as retention time repeatability, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), linearity range, and recovery.

Acknowledgements: The researches were performed within the framework of the Research Project PRIN PNRR 2022- MISSIONE 4, COMPONENTE 2, INVESTIMENTO 1.1 - BANDO PRIN 2022 PNRR - DECRETO DIRETTORIALE N. 1409 DEL 14-09-2022: REcovery and Enhancement of WAste and processing products of the olive oil industry thRough innovative analytical methods for the Development of newly developed NUTRAceutical and COSMetic prOducts (REWARD-NUTRACOSMO), supported by the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research, no. Prot. P20224ZHA5, CUP: J53D23014480001. 

Keywords: HPLC; lipophenols; phenols; by-products.

References

1. Fleyfel L. M., Karpel Vel Leitner N., et al., Process Safety and Environmental Protection (2022), 168, pag. 1031– 1048, DOI: 10.1016/j.psep.2022.10.035 

2. Gómez-Muñoz B., Hatch D. J., et al., InTech (2012), DOI: 10.5772/48244