It contains high levels of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and a multitude of bioactive ingredients. Of these, phenolic compounds are more extensively studied.
About the benefits of MUFA on human health, the FDA issued qualitative health claims for the first time in 2004, on the protection offered by the monounsaturated fatty acids in olive oil against the risk of cardiovascular disease. Overall, the benefits of olive oil fatty acids were summed up at the first International Conference on Olive Oil and Health, 2005.
But olive oil is more than a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids. Phenolic compounds have shown the anti-inflammatory and chemo-protective properties. The oleocanthal of olive oil, has been found to have similar effects to an anti-inflammatory drug ibunoprofene. In none of the studies in which the role of phenolic compounds of olive oil has been considered, it has not presented cytotoxicity.
The european EUROLIVE study presented in 2006, documented evidence for the protective role of phenolic compounds in olive oil. The experiments of this study conducted on 200 healthy volunteers from all over Europe, and demonstrated protection against oxidative stress, on daily consumption of 25 ml of olive oil rich in phenolic compounds (virgin olive oil). In particular there was an increase in HDL (good cholesterol), and reduced lipid markers of oxidative stress after 3 months of virgin olive oil consumption. Moreover, the same study showed a reduction in markers of DNA oxidation, of around 13% – a rate comparable with the rates observed after quitting.
