Abstract
Three varieties of olive (Bashike, Munzanillo, and Dugal) were used to study the changes in oil and fatty acids during growth and maturity . The oil was extracted at the end of growth period and stored at room temperature to study some of its quality properties, also to find prediction equation for predicting oil content, with relationship to pectin and hardness to detect the proper collecting time of the fruits. The results showed that the oil was appeared in fruits with small contents in two
months from the beginning of the growth period, and then significantly increased (P < 0.05) toward the end of the growth period in all olive varieties. Fatty acids content of olive oil varied among varieties. The highest percentage which noticed in the three varieties was oleic acid and the lowest was stearic acid, and appeared in traces. Storage of olive oil resulted an increase in traces. Storage of olive oil resulted an increase in acid value at the beginning of the storage period and a slight increase tow the end of the storage period for the three varieties. Refractive index and iodine value of oils for the varieties were slightly differed during the storage period. Saponification and peroxide values were increased significantly tow the end of the storage period. Anyway, the oil characteristics were acceptable and within the standard specifications.
