Olive (Olea europaea ssp. europaea) is the most important oil fruit crop in temperate areas, but the origin of the cultivated olive remains unclear. The existence of one or several domestication ...events in the Mediterranean Basin (MB) is still debated. We analyzed a dataset of 387 cultivated and wild accessions that were genotyped at 25 simple‐sequence repeat (SSR) loci. The sample represented genetic diversity at the geographic extremes of the MB. We inferred relationships among samples and also applied approximate Bayesian computation to estimate the most probable demographic model of our samples. Cultivated olives clustered into three different gene pools (Q1, Q2 and Q3), corresponding loosely to the west, central and eastern MB, respectively. Q1 consisted primarily of accessions from southern Spain, retained the fingerprint of a genetic bottleneck, and was closely related to accessions from the eastern MB. Q2 showed signs of recent admixture with wild olives and may derive from a local domestication event in the central MB. Overall our results suggest that admixture shaped olive germplasm and perhaps also local domestication events.
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), a principal component of the Mediterranean diet (Med diet), is one of the most ancient known foods and has long been associated with health benefits. Many phenolic ...compounds extracted from Olea europea L. have attracted attention since their discovery. Among these phenolic constituents, oleocanthal has recently emerged as a potential therapeutic molecule for different diseases, showing relevant pharmacological properties in various pathogenic processes, including inflammation, cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we discuss and summarize the most recent pharmacological evidence for the medical relevance of oleocanthal, focusing our attention on its anti-inflammatory and chemotherapeutic roles.
Trunk disease fungal pathogens reduce olive production globally by causing cankers, dieback, and other decline-related symptoms on olive trees. Very few fungi have been reported in association with ...olive dieback and decline in South Africa. Many of the fungal species reported from symptomatic
olive trees in other countries have broad host ranges and are known to occur on other woody host plants in the Western Cape province, the main olive production region of South Africa. This survey investigated the diversity of fungi and symptoms associated with olive dieback and decline in
South Africa. Isolations were made from internal wood symptoms of 145 European and 42 wild olive trees sampled in 10 and 9 districts, respectively. A total of 99 taxa were identified among 440 fungal isolates using combinations of morphological and molecular techniques. A new species of
Pseudophaeomoniella, P. globosa, had the highest incidence, being recovered from 42.8 % of European and 54.8 % of wild olive samples. This species was recovered from 9 of the 10 districts where European olive trees were sampled and from all districts where wild olive trees were
sampled. Members of the Phaeomoniellales (mainly P. globosa ) were the most prevalent fungi in five of the seven symptom types considered, the only exceptions being twig dieback, where members of the Botryosphaeriaceae were more common, and soft/white rot where only
Basidiomycota were recovered. Several of the species identified are known as pathogens of olives or other woody crops either in South Africa or elsewhere in the world, including species of Neofusicoccum, Phaeoacremonium, and Pleurostoma richardsiae. However, 81 of
the 99 taxa identified have not previously been recorded on olive trees and have unknown interactions with this host. These taxa include one new genus and several putative new species, of which four are formally described as Celerioriella umnquma sp. nov., Pseudophaeomoniella globosa
sp. nov., Vredendaliella oleae gen. & sp. nov., and Xenocylindrosporium margaritarum sp. nov.
The olive crop has a large diversity in cultivars around the world, whose identification have been based on leaf, stem or fruit traits. However, these traits may be influenced by the environment, ...which has led to the misidentification of cultivars. The variability of the pistil and pollen structure under electron scanning and light microscopy were studied using the cultivars 'Arbequina', 'Arbosana', 'Frantoio', 'Koroneiki', 'Manzanilla de Sevilla' and 'Picual', cultivated in Southern Brazil. The aim was to find unique patterns for their identification. This type of study has not been carried out in the conditions of Southern Brazil, where the identification of commercial cultivars sometimes is complex and confusing. There were significant differences in the variables, showing uniformity within each cultivar in different locations. The principal component analysis indicated a separation of cultivars according to similarities or micromorphological differences in the pollen wall, area of the lumen and the structural elements of the tectum. For the analysis of the pistil, the separation was even clearer, each cultivar individually forming a cluster, using as characters the length of the style in contrast to the length, width and area of the stigma. This evidenced little variation among individuals within the same cultivar. The information provided can contribute to the individual identification of very close olive tree cultivars in the conditions of Southern Brazil.
A recent olive trunk disease survey performed in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, identified several fungi associated with olive trunk disease symptoms, including species of Basidiomycota, ...Botryosphaeriaceae, Coniochaetaceae, Calosphaeriaceae, Diaporthaceae, Diatrypaceae, Phaeomoniellaceae, Phaeosphaeriaceae, Symbiotaphrinaceae, Togniniaceae, and Valsaceae. Many of the species recovered had not yet been reported from olive trees; therefore, the aim of this study was to determine their pathogenicity toward this host. Pathogenicity tests were first conducted on detached shoots to select virulent isolates, which were then used in field trials. During field trials, 2-year-old olive branches of 15-year-old trees were inoculated by inserting colonized agar plugs into artificially wounded tissue. Measurements were made of the internal lesions after 8 months. In total, 58 isolates were selected for the field trials. Species that formed lesions significantly larger than the control could be considered as olive trunk pathogens. These included
,
,
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, isolates of the
complex,
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,
,
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,
,
,
,
,
,
,
,
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,
,
, an undescribed
sp.,
sp., two undescribed
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spp.
can be regarded as one of the main olive trunk pathogens in South Africa because of its high incidence from olive trunk disease symptoms in established orchards and its high virulence in pathogenicity trials.
A new method of ultrasound-assisted solid liquid extraction (USLE) of olive fruit phenols is described. Phenolics were extracted using high intensity probe ultrasonication and analysed by ...HPLC-DAD-FLD-MS/MS. Four USLE parameters – sonication time (4, 15, 20, 30
min), temperature (25, 45
°C), solvent composition (80%, 100% methanol) and extraction steps (1–5) were studied and optimised on the basis of nine major olive fruit phenols. A three-step extraction of 20
min with pure methanol (25
mL) at 45
°C was needed for sufficient phenol recoveries (94.1–98.7%) from 1.5
g of freeze-dried olive fruits. The proposed USLE method was more efficient in comparison to US bath and agitation, with up to 33% and 80% enhancement in the case of oleuropein, respectively. In addition, the overall method provided high selectivity, precision and sensitivity with LODs/LOQs ranging from 0.66–4.92
μg
g
−1 and 2.00–14.77
μg
g
−1 of olives DW, respectively.
Olive leaf extracts are of special interest due to their proven therapeutic effects. However, they are still considered a by-product of the table olive and the oil industries. In order to learn ...possible ways of exploiting this waste for health purposes, we investigated the phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activities in the leaves of 15 Italian
L. cultivars grown in the same pedoclimatic conditions. The phenolic profiles and amounts of their seven representative compounds were analyzed using HPLC ESI/MS-TOF. The antioxidant activities were determined using three different antioxidant assays (DPPH, ORAC, and superoxide anion scavenging assay). Wide ranges of total phenolic content (11.39-48.62 g GAE kg
dry weight) and antioxidant activities (DPPH values: 8.67-29.89 µmol TE mg
dry weight, ORAC values: 0.81-4.25 µmol TE mg
dry weight, superoxide anion scavenging activity values: 27.66-48.92 µmol TE mg
dry weight) were found in the cultivars. In particular, the cultivars Itrana, Apollo, and Maurino, showed a high amount of total phenols and antioxidant activity, and therefore represent a suitable natural source of biological compounds for use in terms of health benefits.
Growing scientific literature data suggest that the intake of natural bioactive compounds plays a critical role in preventing or reducing the occurrence of human chronic non-communicable diseases ...(NCDs). Oleuropein, the main phenolic component of
L., has attracted scientific attention for its several health beneficial properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardio- and neuro-protective, and anti-cancer. This article is a narrative review focused on the current literature concerning the effect of oleuropein in NCDs, such as neuro- and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney diseases, and cancer, by its putative antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, but also for its other peculiar actions such as an autophagy inducer and amyloid fibril growth inhibitor and, finally, for its anti-cancer effect. Despite the increasing number of published studies, looking at the beneficial effects of oleuropein, there is limited clinical evidence focused on the benefits of this polyphenol as a nutraceutical product in humans, and many problems are still to be resolved about its bioavailability, bioaccessibility, and dosage. Thus, future clinical randomized trials are needed to establish the relation between the beneficial effects and the mechanisms of action occurring in the human body in response to the intake of oleuropein.
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