Selected bioactives from callus cultures of olives (Olea europaea L. Var. Coratina) by LC-MS

Abstract Olive biophenols, OBPs, and biophenol-secoiridoids, OBPsecos, soluble bioactives from olives, and then in olive oil and table olives, were biosynthesized from Coratina olive callus cultures, under bio- and techno-mimetic experimental conditions. We detected major production of OBPs, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, caffeic acid and verbascoside, and of OBP-secos, oleuropein and ligstroside, together with minor amounts of oleuroside, and of demethyl and deglucosil bioactives, by high-performance liquid chromatography, HPLC, coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, ESI-MS. The olive callus system, in an experimental non-pathogenic environment, produced a nearly model balance of OBPs and OBPsecos in suitable amount comparable to drupes, leaves and seeds. The bioreactor scaling-up of more homogeneous and rapidly growing systems, processed by callus shaking to suspension cell cultures, should produce nutraceutical and cosmeceutical bioactives.