New Industrial Procedures for Achieving a Nutritional Added Value of the Olive Oil. The NUTRAOLEUM Study

Summary

The Mediterranean diet, in which olive oil is the main source of fat, has shown to be protective for chronic degenerative diseases. These diseases, such as cardiovascular, cancer, and neurodegenerative, and even the aging process, are linked to oxidative stress and inflammation. Recently, the Prevention through Mediterranean Diet Study has provided for first time evidence of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet on the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Olive oil, besides its high content of a healthy fat, the monounsaturated (MUFA) one: the oleic acid, has minor components with bioactive properties. The minor components of virgin olive oil are classified into two types: the unsaponifiable fraction, defined as the fraction extracted with solvents after the saponification of the oil, and the soluble fraction which includes the phenolic compounds. The content of the phenolic compounds (polyphenols) of an olive oil depends of the variety of the olive fruit, the cultivar, the climate, the ripeness of the olive, and the type of processing. Virgin olive oils obtained from the first press of centrifugation of the olives are those with high phenolic content. On November 2011, the European Food Safety Authority released a claim concerning the benefits of the daily ingestion of olive oil rich in phenolic compounds, such as the virgin olive oil. Due to this, the need to optimize the olive oil processing in order to obtain high phenolic content olive oils is one of the current goals in terms of increasing the nutritional value of an olive oil. To obtain an optimized olive oil with high phenolic content (OHPCO) has been one of the achievements within the frame of the NUTRAOLEOUM Project.

However, the healthy properties of the new olive oils (OHPCO and FOO), according to the Evidence Based Medicine must be tested in proper clinical randomized trials. New olive oil products need to be tested in front of the parental ones (i.e. virgin olive oil obtained by common procedures) in order to ensure that their healthy properties are highlighted. This is the purpose of the NUTRAOLEUM Study. In order to be able to obtain future health claims from EFSA or FDA, for the products, the investigators will also examine the bioavailability in humans of the active principles (phenolic compounds and triterpenes) of the olive oils, as well as possible basic mechanisms involved in the potential health benefits of the olive oils tested.

Conditions

• Cardiovascular Diseases

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Virgin Olive Oil (VOO)

VOO was sequentially administered over 3 periods of 3 weeks preceded by 2-week washout periods in which participants were requested to avoid olives and olive oil consumption. During intervention periods, they were requested to ingest a raw daily dose of 30 mL of VOO distributed over 3 meals. Daily doses of VOO were blindly prepared in special containers, with the corresponding 30 mL VOO daily dose were delivered at the beginning of each intervention period to the participants. The participants were instructed to return the containers when collecting the next daily doses for the amount of unconsumed VOO to be registered. During washout periods participants were provided of sunflower oil for raw and cooking purposes.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Optimized High Phenolic Content Oil (OHPCO)

OHPCO was sequentially administered over 3 periods of 3 weeks preceded by 2-week washout periods in which participants were requested to avoid olives and olive oil consumption. During intervention periods, they were requested to ingest a raw daily dose of 30 mL of OHPCO distributed over 3 meals. Daily doses of OHPCO were blindly prepared in special containers, with the corresponding 30 mL OHPCO daily dose were delivered at the beginning of each intervention period to the participants. The participants were instructed to return the containers when collecting the next daily doses for the amount of unconsumed OHPCO to be registered. During washout periods participants were provided of sunflower oil for raw and cooking purposes.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Functional Olive Oil (FOO)

FOO was sequentially administered over 3 periods of 3 weeks preceded by 2-week washout periods in which participants were requested to avoid olives and olive oil consumption. During intervention periods, they were requested to ingest a raw daily dose of 30 mL of FOO distributed over 3 meals. Daily doses of FOO were blindly prepared in special containers, with the corresponding 30 mL FOO daily dose were delivered at the beginning of each intervention period to the participants. The participants were instructed to return the containers when collecting the next daily doses for the amount of unconsumed FOO to be registered. During washout periods participants were provided of sunflower oil for raw and cooking purposes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospital del Mar

  collaborator OTHER

• Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos

  collaborator OTHER

• Fundación Pública Andaluza para la Investigación Biomédica Andalucía Oriental

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• BLAS GIL, Doctor · Medical doctor

• Montse Fito, Doctor · Head of Research Group

• Emilo Martínez · Head of Research Group

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

20 Years

Max Age

50 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-02-28

Primary Completion

2016-06-30

Completion

2016-12-31

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations