Possible Utilization of Two-Phase Olive Pomace (TPOP) to Formulate Potential Functional Beverages: A Preliminary Study

The demand for functional beverages is expanding over the world. In this work, a rapid, easy and low-cost procedure was followed to prepare a functional beverage (FB) by directly using two-phase olive pomace (TPOP). Liquid ingredients (water and 6% citric acid), extraction systems (heat and ultrasonic treatment), treatment time (30, 60, 90 min) and drying techniques (freeze and air-dried) were studied. Experimented TPOP had a total phenol content of 7.5 mg/g CAE (caffeic acid equivalent), composed majorly of o-diphenols. Air drying of TPOP caused a 50% depletion of total phenols compared to freeze drying. Conversely, no substantial differences were found in the FB, neither for liquid ingredients nor treatment/time adopted. Both 6% citric acid and water were revealed to be profitable liquid ingredients. A 30-min heating treatment was enough to produce a satisfactory beverage, whereas ultrasound treatment caused a loss of total phenols, especially in the water FB. All FBs appeared just limpid after a simple filtration; the citric acid beverage showed reddish color, while water ones were brownish. Finally, the prepared FBs had an average total phenol of about 600 mg/L CAE (by using 300 g/L fresh pomace), with hydroxytyrosol and related compounds being well represented, which confirmed their potential functionality.