Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil Regarding Cultivar, Harvest Year and Crop Stage Pereira Borges, Thays Helena Serna, Adriana López, Luis Carlos Lara, Luis Nieto, Rosa Seiquer, Isabel Extra-virgin olive oil Antioxidant properties Hojiblanca Arbequina Chemometric analysis Polyphenols The health benefits of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) are related to its chemical composition and the presence of bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate antioxidant compounds (pigments, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and phenolic compounds) and antioxidant properties of EVOO from the same region comparing different cultivars (Hojiblanca and Arbequina), harvest year and crop stage. Antioxidant properties of oils were studied before and after a gastrointestinal digestion process, by in vitro assays (DPPH, ABTS and FRAP) and antioxidant markers in Caco-2 cells (reactive oxygen species production). The content of bioactive compounds measured was significantly affected by cultivar and harvest year (except for carotenoids) and by the crop stage (except for coenzyme Q10). Higher amounts of coenzyme Q10 were observed in Hojiblanca than in Arbequina EVOO. Total phenol content and antioxidant properties were also different depending on cultivar and harvest year and the in vitro digestion process strongly improved antioxidant marker values. Antioxidant potential in bioaccessible fractions was mainly related to the content of coenzyme Q10 and phenolic compounds in EVOO. Chemometric analysis showed that the oils were clearly classified by cultivars, harvest and crop stage, according to the chemical composition and antioxidant activity analyzed in the present study. 2020-05-13T11:57:36Z 2020-05-13T11:57:36Z 2019-07-11 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Borges, T. H., Serna, A., López, L. C., Lara, L., Nieto, R., & Seiquer, I. (2019). Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil Regarding Cultivar, Harvest Year and Crop Stage. Antioxidants, 8(7), 217. http://hdl.handle.net/10481/62040 10.3390/antiox8070217 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España MDPI