Sensory attribute preservation in extra virgin olive oil with addition of oregano essential oil as natural antioxidant

ASENSIO C.; NEPOTE V.; GROSSO, N. R.

JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Chicago; Año: 2012 vol. 77 p. 294 - 301

0022-1147

Four commercial varieties of oregano are farmed in Argentina: Compacto, Cordobes, Criollo y Mendocino. Oregano essential oil is known for antioxidant properties. The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in the intensities of positive and negative attributes in extra virgin olive oil with addition of essential oil obtained from the four Argentinean oregano types. Oregano essential oil was added into olive oil at 0.05% w/w. The samples were stored in darkness and light exposure during 126 days at room temperature. The intensity ratings of fruity, pungency, bitterness, oregano flavor and rancid flavor were evaluated every 21 days by a trained sensory panel. In general, samples with addition of oregano essential oil in olive oil exhibited higher and lower intensity ratings of positive and negative attributes, respectively, during storage compared with the control samples. The first two principal components explained 72.3% of the variability in the olive oil samples. In general, positive attributes of olive oil were highly associated with the addition of oregano essential oil in darkness whereas rancid flavor was negatively associated with them. Olive oil with oregano Cordobes essential oil was oppositely associated with light exposure treatments and negative attribute (rancid flavor) suggesting better performance as natural antioxidant of this essential oil in olive oil. The result of this study showed that the presence of oregano essential oil, specially Cordobes type, preserve sensory quality of extra virgin olive oil prolonging the shelf-life of this product.