Effect of the temperature of extraction on the composition of cell wall polysaccharides in olives

Abstract

A comparative study of methods for isolating cell wall material from olives (variety Hojiblanca) was performed. Treatment with cold (T-1) or hot (T-2) ethyl alcohol was followed by extraction into cold or hot water (water-soluble fraction). The insoluble residues were delignified. Hemicelluloses A and B were isolated and the neutral sugar composition and protein content of the different fractions were determined. In the delignified fractions following treatments T-1 and T-2, hemicelluloses A were composed of 87.35% and 87.37% xylose, respectively, indicating the presence of a pure xylan. In the non-delignified fraction, the content of hemicelluloses B was higher than in the delignified fraction and its predominant sugar was glucose, although significant amounts of xylose, galactose and arabinose were also found. The study suggests that treatment T-1 gives better results than T-2 and that a higher degree of purification of hemicelluloses A is obtained from the delignified cell wall material, as well as a decrease in the proteins bound to the fractions.