Chemical composition of olive leaves da regiao de cacapava do Sul, RS

The olive tree (Olea europaea L.) is a plant characteristic of the Mediterranean region that is cultivated in various countries of the world due to the great interest in the production of olives and their oil, which is rich in essential fatty acids. The leaves of the olive tree are an important by-product generated by pruning of trees that have significant amount of phenolic and fatty acids important to health. Given the importance of compounds present in olive leaves and the recent crop in southern Brazil, this study aimed to perform an exploratory study on the proximate composition, total phenolic compounds, fatty acids and minerals present in the leaves of the 'Arbequina' variety from Cacapava do Sul, RS, Brazil. The results showed that the leaves had 8.14 [+ or -] 0.24% of total lipids, with an amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids more than half of the total content of fatty acids, in special linolenic acid (18:3n3, 46,7%), which is present in the olive oil in general close to the concentration of 1 %o. The concentration of total phenolics was 30.21 [+ or -] 0.31mg GAE [g.sup.-1] and the predominant minerals in the leaves were Ca, K, Mg, P and S (between 1153 and 11448mg [g.sup.-1]). The .sodium concentration was considered low (65.4 [+ or -] 5.20mg [g.sup.-1]). These results demonstrate that the leaves from olive trees cultivated in the region of Cacapava do Sul have great potential for use in dietary supplementation both human and animal because are rich in nutrients.