Abstract
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•Tunisian olive oil has an interesting antiradical and anti-inflammatory potential.•Olive oil polyphenols extracts inhibit NO release and iNOS and COX-2 expression.•Olive oil polyphenols extracts scavenge free radicals.•Olive maturity stage decrease olive oil’s quality characteristics and phenols content.•Olive maturity stage can affect olive oil biological efficiency.
Here we evaluate the olive oil antiradical and anti-inflammatory potential through its polyphenols extracts and examine the influence of olive maturity on olive oil quality properties, polyphenols composition and biological potentials. Samples have been obtained from minor Tunisian olive cultivars (Chemchali, Fouji and Zarrazi) at different maturity indices. Principal quality properties were evaluated and polyphenols analysis was carried out by Folin Ciocalteu reagent and HPLC-UV-MS. Antiradical activity was examined by DPPH and FRAP scavenging assays while J774A.1 murine macrophages were used to evaluate anti-inflammatory potential by analyzing NO production with Griess reagent method and iNOS and COX-2 expression by cytofluorimetric analysis. Our results revealed that quality characteristics, total phenol content, as well as phenolic compound concentrations were significantly affected by the olive maturity levels. On the other hand, the polyphenols extracts showed an interesting radical scavenging capacity and a potential ability to inhibit inflammatory markers at 90% for NO release and 75% for iNOS expression. Thus, our study establishes that olive oil through its polyphenols extracts has a substantial antiradical and anti-inflammatory potential. Likewise a lot of attention should be attributed to olive ripening level in order to decide the optimum harvesting time.