Is the Addition of Capsicuum Peppers to Monovarietal Virgin Olive Oil a Potential Strategy to Increase its Oxidative Stability?

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) plays a crucial role in the Mediterranean diet and its nutritional properties are the main reason for the increment of its consumption worldwide. Within the “GLASOIL” project (ID CUP J77H18000280006) different Calabrian (Italy) monovarietal extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) from Olea europea cultivars namely Carolea, Dolce di Rossano, Ottobratica and Roggianella were investigated in order to select the best cultivar for the production of an olive oil-based dressing. This study investigated the effects of Capsicum annuum L. Mirasol, Amando, and Topepo picante,C. chinense Jacq. Aji limo and Red mushroomand C. baccatum L. Bishop crown and Aji Angelo cultivars to the quality parameters, including oxidative stability of flavoured olive oils (FOOs) obtained by the addition of pepper powder (1%) to EVOOs.The total phenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids content was quantified in all pepper extracts, EVOO, and FVOOs phenolic fractions. In order to evaluate the impact of pepper addition on oxidative stability of FOOs, Oxitest test was applied. Different antioxidant assays such as DPPH, ABTS, β-carotene bleaching, and FRAP were applied to investigate the antioxidant potential of samples. Bishop crown showed the highest phytochemicals content, whereas Aji Angelo had the highest amount of capsaicinoids. Among EVOOs, Roggianella EVOO showed the highest antioxidant activity as well as the highest induction time (39.6 h). Remarkably, FOO obtained by the addition of Bishop crown pepper to Roggianella EVOO exhibited a higher induction time with respect to the corresponding EVOO.Due to their high content in bioactive ct potential C. baccatumpepper could be proposed as flavouring agents able to enhance the oxidative stability of monovarietal oils.