Industrial scale · Industrial mills eFood · Wiley · 2026 Active-Italia S.r.l. · Roma
Industrial Validation · eFood 2026
The addition of food-grade salts during olive paste malaxation was tested at three commercial mills in Puglia and Lazio, using Coratina olives. Results were consistent across facilities and are reported in full in the peer-reviewed publication — eFood, Wiley, 2026 — open access.
eFood · John Wiley & Sons · 2026
An Innovative Strategy to Enhance Polyphenol Content and Quality Traits of Olive Oil and Valorization of Mill Wastewater
The process
During olive paste malaxation, enzymatic activity converts Oleuropein and Ligstroside precursors into Oleacein and Oleocanthal respectively. Salt addition is timed thirty minutes into this phase — after enzymatic conversion has begun — so that partition modulation acts on the already-formed secoiridoids.
The addition of food-grade salts at concentrations approaching saturation increases the ionic strength of the aqueous phase. This triggers a salting-out effect: amphiphilic compounds including Oleacein and Oleocanthal become less soluble in water and partition preferentially into the lipid phase. Polyphenol oxidase activity — responsible for phenolic degradation during processing — is simultaneously inhibited by the elevated salt concentration.
Among the salts evaluated, NaH₂PO₄ at 4M retained 85.55% of Oleacein and 97.11% of Oleocanthal in the oil phase. NaCl at 4M — chosen for industrial scale-up on grounds of cost and availability — delivered the results reported above across three non-experimental facilities.
The same partition principle extends beyond olive oil. Mill wastewater, which carries a substantial polyphenol load as a byproduct of extraction, can serve as the donor phase for enriching any lipid substrate. Adding NaCl at 6M to the wastewater and mixing with seed oil transfers 810–1,495 mg/kg total polyphenols into the lipid matrix, depending on the water/oil volume ratio applied.
Input
Olive paste
Malaxation · t = 0 min
Enzymatic conversion begins
Salt addition · t+30 min
Ionic strength modulation
NaCl 4M · NaH₂PO₄ 4M · CaCl₂
Food-grade · SWIR dosimetry
Lipid phase
Oleacein +170%
Oleocanthal +21%
Chlorophyll ×3
Carotenoids ×2.3
Aqueous phase
Polyphenol donor
for seed oil
enrichment
Output
Enriched lipid matrix
EVOO · Seed oils · Any lipid substrate
Olive oil · documented results
The process produces olive oil with a documented secoiridoid profile: Oleacein 458 mg/kg, Oleocanthal 464 mg/kg, total polyphenols 1,266 mg/kg. The EFSA health claim for olive oil polyphenols requires a minimum of 5 mg hydroxytyrosol and derivatives per 20 g oil — concentrations addressable at the levels described.
Oleacein and Oleocanthal inhibit cyclooxygenases COX-1 and COX-2, enzymes involved in prostaglandin synthesis, with activity comparable to ibuprofen at equivalent concentrations (Di Risola et al., 2025). Both compounds modulate NF-κB and Nrf2/HO-1 signalling pathways and exhibit documented anti-biofilm activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The enriched oil constitutes a defined, quantifiable active substrate for nutraceutical and topical formulation.
Seed oil enrichment · wastewater as source
Olive mill wastewater carries a substantial polyphenol load that, if unmanaged, creates phytotoxicity concerns. By applying NaCl at 6M to the wastewater before mixing with seed oil, the partition coefficient shifts and polyphenols transfer into the lipid phase. A 10% v/v water-to-oil ratio yields 810 mg/kg total polyphenols in the enriched substrate. At 150% v/v, the value reaches 1,495 mg/kg. Oleacein concentrations range between 598 and 851 mg/kg across the ratios tested.
The partition process is substrate-agnostic. Corn oil and sunflower oil were used as test matrices; the mechanism applies to any lipid phase. The approach is relevant for markets where olive oil is not the conventional lipid substrate, and where introducing secoiridoid bioactives into locally produced oils represents a distinct formulation pathway for functional food, nutraceutical, and cosmetic applications.
Intellectual property
IT 102022000009722
Polyphenols in eutectic solvent systems
IT 102023000006075
Polyphenol extraction process — olive oil
IT 102024000017041
Polyphenol-enriched oil and lipid matrices
EP 25191067.5
European application
IT · EP · USA
Additional applications under examination
Contact
The full dataset underlying the published results is available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request, as stated in the paper's data availability statement.
For technical discussion on the process, its parameters, and potential applications in specific formulation contexts, Active-Italia S.r.l. can be contacted directly. The institutional site documents the broader research programme from which this work derives.
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