Did you know there’s a tiny secret hiding in a spoonful of golden olive oil?
Its name is squalene—a natural compound made by olives and by your body too.
One tablespoon of olive oil can contain about 22–64 mg of squalene. It is a tiny amount by weight, a little like the vitamin C in a small glass of orange juice. They do very different things, but both are little natural treasures measured in milligrams.
The tablespoon estimate is calculated from amounts reported in research. The exact amount changes from oil to oil. Each olive variety, grove, season, harvest, and method of making the oil leaves its own small mark on the final golden drop. [1]
1. What is squalene, and does olive oil contain it?
Yes. Olive oil contains squalene, a natural compound present in olives and also produced by the human body.
Squalene, one of olive oil’s naturally occurring minor compounds, occurs in plants, animals, and microorganisms. In the human body, it is used to make sterols, a group of compounds that includes cholesterol. It is also present in sebum, the skin’s own protective oil. [2]
In olive oil, squalene belongs to the unsaponifiable fraction, the small portion that does not turn into soap during a laboratory process called saponification. It occurs alongside sterols and tocopherols, members of the vitamin E family. [1]
The name sounds complicated, but the meaning is simple: “unsaponifiable” describes what happens during a chemistry test—not whether an ingredient is good to eat. [1]
2. How much squalene is in a tablespoon of olive oil?
A 2024 critical review reports olive-oil squalene concentrations of approximately 1.7–4.6 grams per kilogram of oil. [1]
Put another way, that is 170–460 mg per 100 g of oil. For a tablespoon of olive oil, a serving that weighs roughly 13–14 g, the published range works out to approximately 22–64 mg of squalene.
Think of it as a helpful estimate from research. It is calculated from published figures, rather than measured in a particular bottle.
The amount changes with the cultivar, the olive variety; fruit maturity, how ripe the olives are at harvest; growing conditions, such as weather and soil; and processing, how the oil is extracted and handled. [1]
When comparing results, check the units. Milligrams per kilogram, written as mg/kg, and milligrams per 100 grams, written as mg/100 g, differ by a factor of ten.
3. Is squalene the same as polyphenols?
No. Squalene and polyphenols are different kinds of naturally occurring olive-oil compounds.
Squalene is a triterpene hydrocarbon, a molecule made only of carbon and hydrogen. Polyphenols belong to the phenolics, a separate family of plant compounds with a different chemical structure.
A polyphenol analysis, a test that measures phenolic compounds, does not measure squalene. Its result cannot be converted into a squalene value. [1]
Here are five parts of olive oil worth knowing. This is not a ranking of importance. [1]
| Constituent | What it is |
|---|---|
| Oleic acid | A monounsaturated fatty acid, a dietary fat with one double bond, that makes up a substantial share of olive oil’s fat |
| Phenolics | A family of compounds that includes olive-oil polyphenols, chemically different from squalene |
| Squalene | A triterpene hydrocarbon, a natural compound in the portion of oil that does not form soap during saponification |
| Vitamin E | A fat-soluble vitamin found in olive oil chiefly as alpha-tocopherol, its main vitamin-E form |
| Sterols | Naturally occurring compounds that include beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol |
Read more in our guide to polyphenol-rich olive oil.
4. Which other plant oils contain squalene?
The olive tree has plenty of company. Researchers have also found squalene in amaranth, rice-bran, wheat-germ, peanut, corn, grape-seed, and soybean oils. [2]
This list shows where squalene has been found. The amount can vary with the plant variety, growing conditions, extraction, refining, and sample tested.
Amaranth, a plant with tiny edible seeds, is an interesting example. Researchers studied 11 varieties and found that squalene made up 3.6–6.1% of the fats extracted from their seeds. The whole seeds contained about 5.1–7.7% oil. [3]
Think of the seed as a little house and its oil as one room inside. The first number describes squalene within that room. The second tells us how much of the whole house is oil.
5. Are squalene and squalane the same?
They are related, but they are not the same molecule.
Squalane is the hydrogenated form of squalene, meaning hydrogen has been added to make it more chemically stable. That stability is one reason it is widely used in skincare. [2]
The names look almost alike. Squalene occurs naturally in olive oil; squalane is the more stable form commonly used in cosmetic products.
6. Does squalene explain olive oil’s health benefits?
No single constituent tells the whole story of olive oil or the way we eat.
Squalene’s presence alone does not establish a health benefit from a serving of oil. The 2024 review notes that EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, found insufficient evidence to support a proposed claim that squalene protects DNA, proteins, and lipids from oxidative damage. [1]
Research on a compound needs to show what it does at amounts people actually eat. Learning that a food contains something is only the beginning.
For the wider picture, read our guide to the benefits of extra virgin olive oil.
Six tips for choosing and storing olive oil
- Consider the whole product. Squalene is one part of the picture. Origin, freshness, storage, and information about the oil matter too.
- Check traceability. Look for the origin, producer or supplier, and a lot number, a code identifying a production batch. A laboratory result should identify the oil it describes.
- Read harvest information. Look for the harvest season, when the olives were picked, alongside the best-before date. Choose a bottle size you will use regularly.
- Store it carefully. Keep the bottle closed and away from light and heat. A cupboard away from the stove is a good home for it.
- Consider the packaging. Dark glass or an opaque tin helps limit light exposure. Close the container between uses.
- Understand the test. Check the compound measured, units, test method, sampling date, and harvest or lot. A polyphenol number does not establish squalene content.
The 2024 review identifies a measurement challenge: there is no validated standardized method designed specifically for measuring squalene in olive oil and its by-products. How a laboratory measures it therefore matters when comparing results. [1]
Continue with our guide to choosing olive oil and our Olive Oil 101 guide.
What Lumìa’s polyphenol figure means
Lumìa Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a 100% Italian, early-harvest, cold-extracted extra virgin olive oil made for daily cooking and finishing.
Its 564 mg/kg polyphenol result, a laboratory measurement of phenolic compounds at milling, refers to the Fall 2025 harvest. This number measures polyphenols; it is not a squalene measurement and cannot establish Lumìa’s squalene content.
Sources
- Barp L, Miklavčič Višnjevec A, Moret S. Analytical Determination of Squalene in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Olive Processing By-Products, and Its Valorization as an Ingredient in Functional Food—A Critical Review. Molecules. 2024;29(21):5201.
- Lozano-Grande MA, Gorinstein S, Espitia-Rangel E, Dávila-Ortiz G, Martínez-Ayala AL. Plant Sources, Extraction Methods, and Uses of Squalene. International Journal of Agronomy. 2018;2018:1829160.
- He HP, Cai Y, Sun M, Corke H. Extraction and Purification of Squalene from Amaranthus Grain. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2002;50(2):368–372.
