Web Release Date: May 3,
The Use of Lactobacillus pentosus 1MO To Shorten the Debittering Process Time of Black Table Olives (Cv. Itrana and Leccino): A Pilot-Scale Application
and
Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Estimative e degli Alimenti, Sezione di Tecnologie e Biotecnologie degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy, and Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, Sezione di Microbiologia Agro-Alimentare ed Ambientale, Università degli Studi di Teramo, Teramo, Italy
Received for review December 22, 2005. Revised manuscript received March 23, 2006. Accepted April 2, 2006.
Abstract:
Fifty lactobacilli isolated from black table olive brines were evaluated for their salt tolerance, resistance
to oleuropein and verbascoside, and ability to grow in modified filter-sterilized brines. A strain of
Lactobacillus pentosus was selected and used as a starter to ferment, in pilot plant, black olives
(Itrana and Leccino cv.) in brines modified for pH, carbohydrate, and growth factor concentrations, at
28 
C. The temperature-controlled fermentation of Leccino cv. olives resulted in obtaining ready-to-eat, high-quality table olives in a reduced-time process. HPLC analysis of phenolic compounds from
fermented olives showed a decrease of oleuropein, a glucoside secoiridoid responsible for the bitter
taste of olive drupes, and an increase of the hydroxytyrosol concentration. The selected strain of L.
pentosus (1MO) allowed the reduction of the debittering phase period to 8 days.
Keywords: Debittering; fermentation; hydroxytyrosol; lactic acid bacteria; Lactobacillus pentosus; oleuropein; table olives; verbascoside
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