Olive Oil Compound May Boost Antioxidant Defenses
(Decision News Media, 8/24/2006)

Roberta Di Benedetto of Italy’s National Center for Food Quality and Risk Assessment and researchers from Italy’s Department of Drug Research and Evaluation report that , although tyrosol, a compound abundant in olive oil, is only a weak antioxidant, it may enhance a cell’s antioxidant defenses. The scientists incubated J774 A.1 cells with LDL cholesterol under oxidizing conditions, together with tyrosol or its derivative; hydroxytyrosol. The investigators found that the cells rapidly absorbed hydroxytyrosol, which initially inhibited 100% of the LDL oxidation; whereas, tyrosol, blocked only 40% of the oxidation, but it slowly accumulated inside the cells and continued to counteract the breakdown of GSH, the cells’ antioxidant defense molecule. This phenomenon may explain why tyrosol, a biophenol with only mild antioxidant properties, has demonstrated strong protective effects against free radical damage. Since LDL oxidation may lead to atherosclerosis, these findings suggest that consuming olive oil may protect against cardiovascular disease.

(Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases, doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2006.03.005).