Chemometric Analysis for the Evaluation of Phenolic Patterns in Olive Leaves from Six Cultivars at Different Growth Stages

Leaves from six important olive cultivars grown under the same agronomic conditions were collected at four different times from June to December and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-TOF-MS). Twenty-eight phenolic compounds were identified and quantified. No qualitative differences were detected among leaves. However, for all cultivars, total concentrations of phenolic compounds decreased from June to August, then increased from October on, and reached higher levels again in December. Principal component analysis provided a clear separation of the phenolic content in leaves for different sampling times and cultivars. Hence, the availability of phenolic compounds depends on both the season and the cultivar. June and December seem to be good times to collect leaves as a source of phenolic compounds. December coincides with the harvest period of olives in the Andalusian region. Thus, in December olive leaves could be valorized efficiently as olive byproducts.