Instead, nevertheless the importance of olive oil in Mediterranean
countries, which produce more than 90% of the world’s olive
oil production [23], poor information is available on the presence of
the lipase in olive fruits. In crude olive extracts, the presence of an
acylhydrolase activity, exhibiting a narrow range of pH activity
around a maximum at pH 8.5, has been reported by Olìas [32],
while it is widely accepted that olive TAGs can be hydrolyzed
during oil extraction process by an active lipase present in olive
seeds [26] as well as by exogenous lipases produced by fungi, such
as Gloesporium olivarum, which often contaminate the fruits [27].
A recent research has shown that freshly produced olive oil iscontaminated by lipase-positive microorganisms capable of
conditioning the physical-chemical and organoleptic characteristics
of the extra virgin olive oil through the production of catabolic
enzymes [6].
However, valuable information about biochemical and molecular
events, which control olive fruit lipid metabolism is still lacking.
The aim of this study was to analyze the biochemical
characteristics of olive lipase extracted from olive mesocarp and to
use information in the extraction process.