An ecofriendly lipophilization of hydroxytyrosol present in industrial Olea europaea L. fractions obtained from olive oil by-products

Hydroxytyrosol [2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethanol, HTyr] is a simple phenol found in olive tree tissues (Olea europaea L.). Despite its well-known beneficial properties for human health, several applications in hydrophobic/lipid media are limited because it is strongly hydrophilic, and this property makes difficult its incorporation into fats and oils. In this communication, we report a simple and ecofriendly procedure to derivatize synthetic HTyr and HTyr present into Olea europaea L. fractions deriving from olive oil by-products into the corresponding lipophilic esters, using acyl chlorides in dimethyl carbonate as solvent without any catalyst.