Pure lycopene from tomato preserves extra virgin olive oil from natural oxidative events during storage

In this study, changes in an extra virgin olive oil treated with lycopene during storage were analyzed. Pure lycopene (0.5 and 1.0 mg) obtained from tomato was added to two separate bottles, each containing 100 mL of extra virgin olive oil, while another bottle containing the same oil was stored without any treatment. Samples enriched with pure lycopene showed PV remarkably lower than the sample without lycopene, and the total phenol contents were higher in treated oil samples than in the reference sample. In addition, a good correlation (r ²=0.969) between total phenol content and antioxidant power calculated as Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) was observed. The concentration of added lycopene decreased very slowly; after about 8 mon its residual value was over 60% with respect to the initial concentration.