Determination of antioxidant properties, volatile compounds and organoleptic properties of flavored organic extra virgin olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil is essential for proper nutrition due to its nutritive quality and organoleptic properties. Nowadays, the use of medicinal and aromatic plants is widespread due to their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The aim of the study is to increase the antioxidant capacity, organoleptic properties and oxidative stability of extra virgin olive oils by aromatizing with medicinal and aromatic plants. In addition, it is to develop the olive oils with different flavors and obtaining new and functional products to spread the consumption of olive oil. For this purpose, 12 different medicinal and aromatic plants; Thymus vulgaris L., Thymus citriodorus L., Origanum onites L., Origanum majorana L., Satureja hortensis L., Artemisia dracunculus L., Ocimum basilicum L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Lavandula angustifolia L., Lippia citriodora L., Mentha piperita L. and Mentha spicata L., were used. Free fatty acidity, peroxide value, volatile compound profile, sensory properties, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity (ABTS, CUPRAC and FRAP methods) and their bioaccessibility were determined in flavored olive oils. As a result, while the stability and sensory properties of flavored organic extra virgin olive oils differed according to the added medicinal and aromatic plants, their antioxidant properties and bioaccessibility were significantly increased. While the bioaccessibility values of the total phenolic content of the flavored olive oils varied between 17,23 % and 61,41 %, the average % bioaccessibility of the antioxidant capacity was determined as 64,61 % according to the CUPRAC method. A total of 169 volatile components were investigated in flavored extra virgin olive oils. 4-nitrophthalamide, 1-hexadecanol, 7-hexadecene, (Z)- (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene were detected in all samples. The volatile compounds varied depending on the plant species added. According to the hierarchical clustering analysis in terms of volatile components, a very strong similarity was detected between the olive oils with the added Origanum onites L. and Satureja hortensis L. while, Lippia citriodora L. and Mentha spicata L. added olive oils were separated from all other samples.