World Olive Tree Day 2023 - The Olive Value Chain
26th November is World Olive Tree Day and the harvest season for olives in Europe is coming to an end. To mark World Olive Tree Day 2023, the BIOVEXO project is joining with the OLEAF4VALUE project to look beyond the trees and the olives they produce and locate the trees within the value chain they support.
The EU produces approximately two-thirds of the world’s olive oil and around 4 million hectares, mainly in the EU Mediterranean countries, are dedicated to the cultivation of olives trees. That occupies 8–9% of the total cultivated land in Spain, Italy and Portugal and a massive 20% in Greece!
This year has been challenging for olive growers as you might have seen in the news – abnormal weather in many regions has caused damage to crops and Xylella fastidiosa continues to threaten olive trees, especially in southern Italy and in the Balearic Islands in Spain, although some regions, such as the Balearic Islands and Italy (North of Apulia) did report good harvests. However, good news was announced in the 4th Lyon Conference on Xylella fastidiosa, where a significant slowing of the diffusion of the epidemic in Apulia and new studies on olive resistance were reported.
Many products are made from olives:
As well as forming an important part of the ecosystem and providing habitats for a large variety of creatures, olive trees produce value in many ways – the most obvious way is producing the olives we eat, either as table olives or in the form of different grades of olive oil used in cooking. Indeed, the consumption of olives, and olive oil in particular, has been clinically proven to provide health benefits and prevent chronic disease.
But that is not all: olive oil has many uses beyond the culinary! Olive oil has been recognized for centuries for its beneficial properties in the health and beauty industries, for example as a cream or ointment for the skin. Indeed, the use of olive oil in cosmetics can be traced back to the beginning of the cultivation of olive trees and it has been documented that ancient people also used olive oil as perfume, anointment for the dead, soap, and fuel for lamps. Soap is still a common use for olive oil: though traditional artisanal methods of making soap from olive oil may be becoming less common.
But have you ever wondered about the olive leaves that remain in the field and mills each year in Europe? They add up to a staggering amount of biomass – olive trees used to produce table olives need to be pruned every year, whilst olive trees grown for olive oil need to be pruned every second year. It is estimated that a whopping 1.25 million tons of olive leaf biomass is produced annually in Spain alone, representing approximately 50% of the world’s total production. Most of the waste from the pruning was traditionally burned or left in the ground, which not only contributed to air pollution in the form of smoke, but also wasted a significant source of energy. However, increasingly, these discarded olive leaves are not just left in the fields – they are starting to be recognized as a precious resource themselves, playing a crucial role in various industries, such as animal feedstock, cosmetics, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals.
Furthermore, olive leaves are rich in polyphenols, which have untapped potential that goes beyond their current applications.
In this blog post, the OLEAF4VALUE project will take us on a journey to explore the chemical composition of olive leaves and uncover the diverse ways in which this biomass can be harnessed for a wide range of applications. Keep reading to learn more!
Olive Biomass:
The olive leaf biomass left over after the harvest is completed is rich in valuable bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, triterpenoids, essential oils, lipids, and lignocellulose, making it a potential asset in various industries including food, feed, chemical, nutraceutical, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical sectors. Despite its high market potential, the olive leaf biomass poses a challenge for growers and the olive oil industry, requiring removal from fields and mills. Currently, the potential of olive leaves once they fall from the tree it is often underutilized, either being burned in fields, fed to livestock, or used for energy production. But added value products can be obtained from them!
OLEAF4VALUE is a 3-year collaborative EU-funded project (funded under the BBI-JU, now known as CBE-JU) which began in June 2021 and brings together a consortium of experienced partners dedicated to fully exploiting the potential of this underutilized biomass. The project uses enzymatic biotransformation and nanoencapsulation technologies to create tailored products for the specific end-user markets. The consortium includes entities from the entire value chain, encompassing the collection and supply of raw material, biorefining processes, post-extraction technologies, and bio analysis, market validation, and impact assessment, including sustainability.
The project’s primary goal is to provide a sustainable solution for the comprehensive valorisation of olive leaves, that is, finding the best final product for the given condition of the leaves: factors like origin, horticultural practices, tree type, and leaf origin (i.e. whether the leaves grew on older, low-hanging branches, or in new growth near the tree crown) can impact what compounds etc. can be extracted in what quantities from the leaves. The project aims to establish six new value chains that will introduce 24 bio-based, cost-effective products to the market. These products aim to create value across the entire chain, with a particular emphasis on the primary sector.
Notable compounds such as oleuropein, luteolin, and pinoresinol found in olive leaf extracts are currently being utilised in this revalorisation process. Examples of resulting products include: natural preservatives; treatments for certain conditions such as diabetes; antioxidants for the food market; new feed additives to enhance animal health and reduce use of antibiotics; and, natural antioxidants with potential applications in the plastics sector. Additionally, a number of bio-based compounds generated by the project show promise as potential cosmetic ingredients, for example, offering protection against oxidative stress, for skin repair, and in wound healing.
To date, OLEAF4VALUE has successfully developed cutting-edge uses for sensors, for example, NIR spectroscopy, a technique that shows promising in evaluating key components like oleuropein and other bioactive compounds in olive leaves. The project has also explored the impact of different treatments, like drying or fermentation, on the final chemical composition.
Furthermore, OLEAF4VALUE project is currently putting the finishing touches to an innovative smart biorefinery design which will be capable of producing over 40 different bioproducts from olive leaves.
Using enzymes and microbial strains, the OLEAF4VALUE project been able to extract over 20 molecules from oleanolic acid and oleuropein, some of which are entirely new. These are rare, high-value components of olive tree leaves, almost impossible to obtain (at least in a financially viable manner) via chemical synthesis. One element in ensuring financial viability is the energy input required for extraction of the compounds – it also has a key role in the environmental impact of project’s polyphenols and lignocellulose-derived products. The OLEAF4VALUE project is committed to proving sustainability and minimizing the environmental impact of the products over their entire lifecycle.
The OLEAF4VALUE project’s extracts are proving to be effective antioxidants and antimicrobial agents. This could have benefits for gut health and the immune system, though these effects are still undergoing testing. Oleanolic Acid has many pharmacological activities, such as hepatoprotection, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-tumor, and anti-microbic activities. Its therapeutic application is limited by its poor water solubility, bioavailability, and permeability. Within the OLEAF4VALUE project, research partners have found that different formulations, like microemulsions and solid dispersions, have improved the solubility of the compounds making them more effective in smaller doses as the body can absorb them more easily.
If all of that has whet your appetite, then keep an eye on the OLEAF4VALUE project’s website and social media channels: they will be hosting a at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Spain on January 30th, 2024 (agenda coming soon). There, they will be diving into the exciting potential market impact of OLEAF4VALUE project products in the bioeconomy!
Conclusion: Sustainability and Circularity
Despite being exploited in many ways, for many products, over many centuries, olive trees still have the potential to provide the raw material for innovative products with exciting potential across a range of applications in the bio-based sector. Even more reason to ensure they are protected from the threat of invasive alien species such as Xylella fastidiosa!
The circular bioeconomy and the development and production of bio-based products will also play a crucial role in the shift from a fossil fuel-based economy to a sustainable green revolution in Europe. Within this transformative context, there is a significant opportunity to breathe new life into underutilized bio-based side streams and residues (such as olive leaves), offering substantial benefits.
European Union funding allows research to be carried out at both ends of the value chain – protecting the trees (BIOVEXO) and developing new ways to treat residual biomass and extract value (OLEAF4VALUE).
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