Olive Oil

Normal rats fed for 105 days on an experimental diet made up of standard laboratory chow supplemented with 0.5% of a mixture of brominated sunflower-olive oil (BVO) developed a significant increase in the triacylglycerol content of the heart, liver and soleus muscle compared to controls. In addition, BVO-treated rats had a decrease in plasma levels of triacylglycerol and total and HDL cholesterol. Plasma fatty acid levels and plasma post-heparin lipolytic activities, such as H-TGL, LPL, T-TGL and MGH were similar to those of control animals fed the standard chow alone. Heart PDHa (active portion of pyruvate dehydrogenase) was dramatically decreased in the BVO-fed rats. A faster rate of spontaneous lipolysis was recorded in the isolated perfused preparation of hearts from the experimental animals. The addition of 10(-7) M of glucagon to the perfusate, however, revealed a lipolytic effect comparable to the one observed in the control rats. In summary, our findings of normal fatty acids and low triacylglycerol plasma levels associated with normal activities of the various PHLA (post-heparin lipolytic activity) enzymes suggest that accumulation of triacylglycerol in heart muscle may not be explained essentially in terms of an elevated uptake and/or increased delivery of plasma fatty acids or plasma triacylglycerol. A decreased in situ catabolism of tissue triacylglycerol also appears unlikely because the spontaneous as well as the glucagon induced lipolysis in the heart both were found to be unimpaired.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the top commercial grade of olive oil, and its fatty acid composition and
minor compounds have many documented health benefits. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
has recently attributed some health claims to EVOO. Although numerous studies have been carried out
on its production technology and nutritional effects, little is known about the composition and quality of
EVOO from the retail market. Thus, our aim was to evaluate EVOOs from the Italian market by assessing
their fatty acid composition, quality indices, polyphenols, tocopherol content and antioxidant activity
(ABTS method) with a view to the possible application of EFSA health claims. High variability was found
for phenolic compounds and tocopherols, the levels of which were significantly higher in 100% Italian
labeled oils compared with European Union blends. Consumption of the recommended daily amount of
EVOO would cover about 50% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of tocopherols, as well as the
polyphenol intake recommended by EFSA. Only 3 of the 32 samples had a phenolic content above
250 ppm. Particularly high polyphenol indices were found in the samples of Italian oils covered by
Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs). In conclusion, the food industry and consumers need to pay
close attention to producing and choosing the best EVOO from the nutritional viewpoint.

La monografia, edita nel dicembre del 2011, è il frutto del lavoro congiunto di Marco Antonucci e Paolo Oscar che hanno affrontato, con prospettive differenti ma complementari, il tema dell’evoluzione della coltura olivicola nella Bergamasca dal 1853 a oggi. Mentre il primo autore si è occupato specificamente dell'aspetto agronomico e produttivo (seconda parte del volume), con richiami e raffronti a metodologie e tecniche agrarie in uso nell’Ottocento, al secondo si deve l'analisi storica finalizzata alla ricostruzione geografica della diffusione dell’olivo a metà Ottocento basata sul Catasto Lombardo-Veneto del 1853 e l’analisi statistica dal 1909-2010 basata su fonti ufficiali dell’ISTAT (Catasti agrari del 1910 e 1929; Censimenti generali dell'agricoltura dal 1970 al 2000, Rilevazioni statistiche annuali dal 1910 al 2010, Basi DUSAF 1954, 1999, 2005 e 2007).
Il lavoro di indagine geo-storica della prima parte del volume – qui pubblicata – ha portato allo sviluppo di un sistema informativo geografico specificamente dedicato alla diffusione della coltura olivicola (nelle diverse forme colturali in cui si presentava) il cui strato informativo è attualmente consultabile interattivamente sia attraverso il portale SITer@ dell'Amministrazione provinciale sia su ArcGIS online (http://arcg.is/2fI2Wxg) mediante semplici funzionalità GIS, anche in sovrapposizione ad altri strati informativi attuali.
Ricerca e pubblicazione sono state commissionate dal Settore Urbanistica e Agricoltura della Provincia di Bergamo e realizzate con il contributo del Fondo Europeo Agricolo per lo Sviluppo Rurale.