EUROLIVE

Il Progetto \ue8 stato finanziato sul V programma quadro della UE ed \ue8 tutt'ora attivo per la parte relativa alle pubblicazioni e alla ulteriore definizione dei risutlati di una lunga sperimentazione sui possibili effetti in medicina preventiva cardiovascolare derivanti dall'assunzione di olio di oliva. Il Progetto ha portato a numerosi deliverables di grande interesse. BACKGROUND: Virgin olive oils are richer in phenolic content than refined olive oil. Small, randomized, crossover, controlled trials on the antioxidant effect of phenolic compounds from real-life daily doses of olive oil in humans have yielded conflicting results. Little information is available on the effect of the phenolic compounds of olive oil on plasma lipid levels. No international study with a large sample size has been done. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether the phenolic content of olive oil further benefits plasma lipid levels and lipid oxidative damage compared with monounsaturated acid content. DESIGN: Randomized, crossover, controlled trial. SETTING: 6 research centers from 5 European countries. PARTICIPANTS: 200 healthy male volunteers. MEASUREMENTS: Glucose levels, plasma lipid levels, oxidative damage to lipid levels, and endogenous and exogenous antioxidants at baseline and before and after each intervention. INTERVENTION: In a crossover study, participants were randomly assigned to 3 sequences of daily administration of 25 mL of 3 olive oils. Olive oils had low (2.7 mg/kg of olive oil), medium (164 mg/kg), or high (366 mg/kg) phenolic content but were otherwise similar. Intervention periods were 3 weeks preceded by 2-week washout periods. RESULTS: A linear increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels was observed for low-, medium-, and high-polyphenol olive oil: mean change, 0.025 mmol/L (95% CI, 0.003 to 0.05 mmol/L), 0.032 mmol/L (CI, 0.005 to 0.05 mmol/L), and 0.045 mmol/L (CI, 0.02 to 0.06 mmol/L), respectively. Total cholesterol-HDL cholesterol ratio decreased linearly with the phenolic content of the olive oil. Triglyceride levels decreased by an average of 0.05 mmol/L for all olive oils. Oxidative stress markers decreased linearly with increasing phenolic content. Mean changes for oxidized low-density lipoprotein levels were 1.21 U/L (CI, -0.8 to 3.6 U/L), -1.48 U/L (-3.6 to 0.6 U/L), and -3.21 U/L (-5.1 to -0.8 U/L) for the low-, medium-, and high-polyphenol olive oil, respectively. LIMITATIONS: The olive oil may have interacted with other diet

Elevated circulating LDL phenol levels in men who consumed virgin rather than refined olive oil are associated with less oxidation of plasma LDL.

In human LDL, the bioactivity of olive oil phenols is determined by the in vivo disposition of the biological metabolites of these compounds. Here, we examined how the ingestion of 2 similar olive oils affected the content of the metabolic forms of olive oil phenols in LDL in men. The oils differed in phenol concentrations as follows: high (629 mg/L) for virgin olive oil (VOO) and null (0 mg/L) for refined olive oil (ROO). The study population consisted of a subsample from the EUROLIVE study and a randomized controlled, crossover design was used. Intervention periods lasted 3 wk and were preceded by a 2-wk washout period. The levels of LDL hydroxytyrosol monosulfate and homovanillic acid sulfate, but not of tyrosol sulfate, increased after VOO ingestion (P < 0.05), whereas the concentrations of circulating oxidation markers, including oxidized LDL (oxLDL), conjugated dienes, and hydroxy fatty acids, decreased (P < 0.05). The levels of LDL phenols and oxidation markers were not affected by ROO consumption. The relative increase in the 3 LDL phenols was greater when men consumed VOO than when they consumed ROO (P < 0.05), as was the relative decrease in plasma oxLDL (P = 0.001) and hydroxy fatty acids (P < 0.001). Plasma oxLDL concentrations were negatively correlated with the LDL phenol levels (r = -0.296; P = 0.013). Phenols in LDL were not associated with other oxidation markers. In summary, the phenol concentration of olive oil modulates the phenolic metabolite content in LDL after sustained, daily consumption. The inverse relationship of these metabolites with the degree of LDL oxidation supports the in vivo antioxidant role of olive oil phenolics compound

Comparison Between Different Flavored Olive Oil Production Techniques: Healthy Value and Process Efficiency

Three different flavoring methods of olive oil were tested employing two different herbs, thyme and oregano. The traditional method consist in the infusion of herbs into the oil. A second scarcely diffused method is based on the addition of herbs to the crushed olives before the malaxation step during the extraction process. The third innovative method is the implementation of the ultrasound before the olive paste malaxation. The objective of the study is to verify the effect of the treatments on the quality of the product, assessed by means of the chemical characteristics, the phenol composition and the radical scavenging activity of the resulting oils. The less favorable method was the addition of herbs directly to the oil. A positive effect was achieved by the addition of herbs to the olive paste and other advantages were attained by the employment of ultrasound. These last two methods allow to produce oils “ready to sell”, instead the infused oils need to be filtered. Moreover, the flavoring methods applied during the extraction process determine a significant increment of phenolic content and radical scavenging activity of olive oils. The increments were higher when oregano is used instead of thyme. Ultrasound inhibited the olive polyphenoloxidase, the endogenous enzyme responsible for olive oil phenol oxidation. This treatment of olive paste mixed with herbs before malaxation was revealed as the most favorable method due to the best efficiency, reduced time consumption and minor labor, enhancing the product quality of flavored olive oil