A fixed oil obtained from ripe olives, the fruit of the cultivated olive tree Olea europaea L., Oleaceae. Produced almost exclusively in the countries adjoining the Mediterranean Sea, Spain being the largest producer. Whole olives are crushed in edge runner mills and the oil is expressed in open hydraulic presses. Constit. Mixed glycerides of fatty acids, primarily oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, stearic acid, and arachidic acid. Minor constitutents are squalene, phytosterols, α- and γ-tocopherols, pigments, terpenic acids, flavonoids, and the phenolic antioxidants, tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, q.q.v. HPLC determn of phenols, flavones, and lignans in virgin olive oils: R. Mateos et al., J. Agric. Food Chem. 49, 2185 (2001). Reviews and bibliographies: José M. de Soroa y Pineda, El aceite de oliva (Dossat, Madrid, 1944); R. F. Simari, G. B. Martinenghi, Olivicoltura e Oleificio (Hoepli, Milano, 1950); P. G. Garoglio, Technologia de los Aceites Vegetales (Mendoza, Argentina, 1951); E. W. Eckey, Vegetable Fats and Oils (Reinhold, New York, 1954).