FRUIT AND OIL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MAIN SYRIAN OLIVE CULTIVARS

In the three-year period 2004-06, a study was carried out to characterise the fruit and oil of the main Syrian olive cultivars: Kaissy and Zaity in the Aleppo area, Dan, Hemplasi and Souri in the Damascus area, Insassy, Karamani and Sorani in the Idleb area, Khodeiri in the Lattakia area, Safrawi in the Hama (Mousiaf) area and Doebli in the Tartous area. Olive samples were collected in October or November and the fruit weight, epicarp and mesocarp pigmentation and oil content were determined. Oil was also extracted from the samples and the acidity, peroxide value, spectrophotometric absorbance at 232 and 270 nm (K(232) and K(270)) and Delta K, fatty acid composition, sterol composition and content and erythrodiol + uvaol content were determined. Marked differences were recorded in the cultivars for all the fruit characteristics studied. The oleic acid content was around 70% in most of the oils. The Karamani cultivar had a low oleic acid value (60%) and high palmitic and linoleic acid values. The average values of the parameters (acidity, peroxide value, absorbance in ultraviolet, fatty acid composition, sterol composition and content, erythrodiol + uvaol content) used to evaluate oil quality were within the International Olive Council (IOC) trade standards for extra virgin olive oils, with the exception of Delta-7-stigmastenol values which were higher than 0.5%, the maximum value established by such standards, in the cultivars Khodeiri and Doebli. The average Delta-7-stigmastenol values were as high as 0.5% or very close to 0.5% in the cultivars Insassy and Sorani, respectively, indicating that, also in some replicates of these cultivars, the Delta-7-stigmastenol values were higher than 0.5%.