Supplementation of plasma with olive oil phenols and extracts: influence on LDL oxidation.

Phenols present in olive oil may contribute to the health effects of the Mediterranean lifestyle. Olive oil antioxidants increase the resistance of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) against oxidation in vitro, but human intervention studies have failed to demonstrate similar consistent effects. To better mimic the in vivo situation, plasma was incubated with either individual olive oil phenols or olive oil extracts with different phenolic compositions, and LDL was subsequently isolated and challenged for its resistance to oxidation. The results show that the ortho-dihydroxy phenols (hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein-aglycone) are more efficient than their mono-hydroxy counterparts (tyrosol and ligstroside-aglycone) in increasing the resistance of LDL to oxidation. However, the concentration of antioxidants required to inhibit LDL oxidation when added to whole plasma was substantially higher as compared to previous data where antioxidants are directly added to isolated LDL. In conclusion, this study supports the hypothesis that extra virgin olive oil phenols protect LDL in plasma against oxidation. The explanation that in vitro studies show protective effects in contrast to the lack of effect in the majority of human studies may be that the dose of the phenols and thus their plasma concentration in humans was too low to influence ex vivo LDL oxidizability. Further studies are required to gain a better understanding of the potential health benefits that extra virgin olive oil may provide.

Olive oil phenolics protect LDL and spare vitamin E in the hamster.

An animal feeding trial was conducted to investigate whether olive oil phenolics can act as functional antioxidants in vivo. To this end, hamsters were exposed for a period of 5 wk to a dietary regime with either a phenol-rich extra virgin olive oil or extra virgin olive oil from which phenols were removed by ethanol/water-washing. The original oil used in the high olive phenol diet was also used for the preparation of the low phenol diet in order to keep the FA compositions exactly the same. In addition, the vitamin E content was kept identical in both diets. This careful preparation of the diets was undertaken in order to prevent these factors from influencing the antioxidative status in plasma and LDL. Removal of olive oil phenols was shown to reduce both the vitamin E level in plasma and the resistance of LDL to ex vivo oxidation. The results of this study support the idea that extra virgin olive oil phenols improve the antioxidant defense system in plasma by sparing the consumption of vitamin E under normal physiological circumstances.