Various nutraceutical properties of olives are ascribed to their different oil compositions and diversity of their active substances. Iran is endowed with great olive diversity which deserves to be studied. Accordingly, nine minor Iranian olive varieties, i.e. Tarom (T) varieties, were studied. Characterization of these minor varieties (T10, T15, T16, T17, T18, T20, T22, T23, T24) along with 3 major Iranian and 4 Mediterranean varieties with 11 chromosomal SSR markers revealed remarkable diversity among them. Most of T varieties had oil and Total Phenolic Content (TPC) comparable to Mediterranean olives. In comparison with Mediterranean varieties, T18 and T22 had higher Oleic Acid (OlA). T24 and T18 contained the highest and the lowest Linoleic Acid (LiA), respectively. T18 exhibited the highest OlA/LiA ratio. T24 was exceptionally phenols-rich variety followed by T20. Radical Scavenging Activities (RSA) results hardly suggested linear correlation between TPC and antioxidant capacity of the examined varieties. Nonetheless, T22 showed Phenol Antioxidant Coefficient higher than Mediterranean samples. Harvest time was influential on LiA content and the (RSA/TPC) ratios. Considering nutraceutical potential, some of T varieties are superior to the prevailing Iranian and Mediterranean varieties, so, they deserve to be introduced to olive improvement programs.

Keywords: Oleic acid/linoleic acid ratio, Phenols Antioxidant Capacity, Radical Scavenging Activity, Tarom varieties

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