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Extra virgin olive oil high in polyphenols improves antioxidant status in adults: a double-blind, randomized, controlled, cross-over study (OLIVAUS)

European Journal of Nutrition Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Olive oil polyphenols have been associated with cardiovascular health benefits. This study examined the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of extra-virgin high polyphenol olive oil (HPOO) vs. low polyphenol olive oil (LPOO) in healthy Australian adults.

Methods

In a double-blind cross-over trial, 50 participants (aged 38.5 ± 13.9 years, 66% females) were randomized to consume 60 mL/day of HPOO (320 mg/kg polyphenols) or LPOO (86 mg/kg polyphenols) for three weeks. Following a 2-week wash-out period, participants crossed-over to the alternate treatment. Plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and anthropometrics were measured at baseline and follow-up.

Results

Fourty-three participants completed the study. Although there were no significant differences between treatments in the total sample, plasma ox-LDL decreased by 6.5 mU/mL (95%CI − 12.4 to − 0.5) and TAC increased by 0.03 mM (95% CI 0.006–0.05) only in the HPOO arm. Stratified analyses were also performed by cardiovascular disease risk status defined by abdominal obesity (WC > 94 cm in males, > 80 cm in females) or inflammation (hs-CRP > 1 mg/L). In the subgroup with abdominal obesity, ox-LDL decreased by 13.5 mU/mL (95% CI − 23.5 to − 3.6) and TAC increased by 0.04 mM (95% CI 0.006–0.07) only after HPOO consumption. In the subgroup with inflammation, hs-CRP decreased by 1.9 mg/L (95% CI − 3.7 to −0.1) only in the HPOO arm.

Conclusions

Although there were no significant differences between treatments, the changes observed after HPOO consumption demonstrate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect of this oil, which is more pronounced in adults with high cardiometabolic risk (Clinical Trial Registration: ACTRN12618000706279).

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Acknowledgements

The quantitative immunoturbidimetric determination of hs-CRP in human serum was performed at PathWest laboratory (Fiona hospital, WA) under the coordination of Mr Ramon Lambert (Scientist in Charge). Laboratory analysis for TAC assay was conducted by AL, KP, OF and for ox-LDL assay by MG. The authors would like to acknowledge Professor Luke Prendergast who contributed in the original sample size calculation. The authors would also like to thank Professor Andrew Pipingas and Dr Gregory Kennedy who contributed in parts of the protocol related to blood pressure and measures of arterial stiffness. We would also like to acknowledge the work of Ms Johanna Hoskin (Honours student) who was involved in the data collection phase of the main study. Finally, we thank our participants for their cooperation.

Funding

This trial is supported by a seeding grant from the La Trobe University Understanding Disease Research Focus Area. Cobram Estate Pty. Ltd. has provided partial financial support and intervention EVOO for this trial. K.S., who conducted her PhD on this trial, has been supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Conceptualization/study design, CI, ESG, and WM; investigation, KS; data curation, KS and GM; statistical analysis, KS, and GM; writing—original draft preparation, KS; review and editing, all authors; supervision, GM, CJT and CI; project administration, KS, ESG, JCW and WM; funding acquisition, CI, ESG, WM, HLM, and CJT All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to George Moschonis.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. W.M. is currently funded by an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and a Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia early-career fellowship. W.M. has previously received funding from the Cancer Council Queensland and university grants/fellowships from La Trobe University, Deakin University, University of Queensland, and Bond University, received industry funding and has attended events funded by Cobram Estate Pty. Ltd., received travel funding from Nutrition Society of Australia, received consultancy funding from Nutrition Research Australia, and has received speakers honoraria from the Cancer Council Queensland and the Princess Alexandra Research Foundation.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was conducted according to the Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice (GCP), the guidelines laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki and the CONSORT reporting guidelines. All procedures involving human subjects were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of La Trobe University (HEC17-067) and written informed consent was obtained from all volunteers.

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Sarapis, K., George, E.S., Marx, W. et al. Extra virgin olive oil high in polyphenols improves antioxidant status in adults: a double-blind, randomized, controlled, cross-over study (OLIVAUS). Eur J Nutr 61, 1073–1086 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-021-02712-y

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