A Souvenir With Standards: What Is Really Inside High-Quality Olive Oil?

The holidays are ending, school will soon start again in Bavaria, and out of many suitcases the summer has made its way home in the form of a bottle of extra virgin olive oil. Whether from Greece, Italy, or Spain: for many travelers it is one of the most popular souvenirs. Consumers associate it with Mediterranean pleasure, traditional production, and added health value. But how do you actually recognize the quality of an olive oil?

For manufacturers, testing laboratories, and quality managers, the answer is clear: reliable analysis is the basis of every quality assessment. High-quality reference substances play a decisive role here. They enable the reliable identification and quantification of characteristic constituents and support the quality control of food, dietary supplements, and herbal medicinal products alike.

A closer look at the characteristic constituents of the olive tree

The olive tree (Olea europaea) contains a wide range of bioactive natural compounds that are relevant to both the quality and the authenticity of olive products.

Of particular interest are the aldehydes oleacein and oleocanthal, which occur naturally in extra virgin olive oil. Both compounds are among the characteristic constituents of high-quality olive oils and are frequently associated with the oil’s antioxidant properties. For the analytical determination of these important markers, PhytoLab offers the exclusively available phyproof reference substances.

Newly available: The phyproof reference substances oleaceinic acid and oleocanthalic acid now complement our portfolio for olive oil analysis and support the reliable quality assessment of high-quality olive oils.

Together with these new additions, PhytoLab offers numerous further reference substances from the active compound spectrum of Olea europaea:

• Oleuropein, oleoside 11-methyl ester (iridoids)
• (-)-olivil, cycloolivil (lignans)
• Oleanolic acid (triterpene)
• Tocopherols (vitamin E compounds)

Quality begins with the right reference

Whether for the incoming goods inspection of olive extracts, the release of dietary supplements, or the analysis of high-quality olive oils: the significance of analytical results depends largely on the quality of the reference standards used.

With its comprehensive portfolio of phyproof reference substances, PhytoLab supports laboratories worldwide in the reliable identification of plant constituents and the dependable quality control of botanical products.

Discover our portfolio of reference substances for Olea europaea and bring Mediterranean quality safely into the laboratory.