Despite numerous reports on the beneficial effects of olive oil in the cardiovascular context, very little is known about the olive tree’s wild counterpart (Olea europaea, L. var. sylvestris), commonly known as acebuche (ACE) in Spain. The aim of this study was to analyse the possible beneficial effects of an extra virgin ACE oil on vascular function in a rodent model of arterial hypertension (AH) induced by NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Four experimental groups of male Wistar rats were studied: (1) normotensive rats (Control group); (2) normotensive rats fed a commercial diet supplemented with 15 % (w/w) ACE oil (Acebuche group); (3) rats made hypertensive following administration of L-NAME (L-NAME group); and (4) rats treated with L-NAME and simultaneously supplemented with 15 % ACE oil (LN + ACE group). All treatments were maintained for 12 weeks. Besides a significant blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect, the ACE oil-enriched diet counteracted the alterations found in aortas from hypertensive rats in terms of morphology and responsiveness to vasoactive mediators. In addition, a decrease in hypertension-related fibrotic and oxidative stress processes was observed in L-NAME-treated rats subjected to ACE oil supplement. Therefore, using a model of AH via nitric oxide depletion, here we demonstrate the beneficial effects of a wild olive oil based upon its vasodilator, antihypertensive, antioxidant, antihypertrophic and antifibrotic properties. We postulate that regular inclusion of ACE oil in the diet can alleviate the vascular remodelling and endothelial dysfunction processes typically found in AH, thus resulting in a significant reduction of BP.

Monocytes and macrophages are critical effectors and regulators of inflammation and innate immune response, which appear altered in different autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recent studies suggested that virgin olive oil (VOO) and particularly its phenol compounds might possess preventive effects on different immune-inflammatory diseases, including SLE. Here, we evaluated the effects of VOO (and sunflower oil) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated peritoneal macrophages from a model of pristane-induced SLE in BALB/c mice, as well as those of the phenol fraction (PF) from VOO on the immune-inflammatory activity and plasticity in monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages from healthy volunteers. The release of nitrite and inflammatory cytokines was lower in LPS-treated peritoneal macrophages from pristane-SLE mice fed the VOO diet when compared with the sunflower oil diet. PF from VOO similarly decreased the secretion of nitrite and inflammatory cytokines and expression of inducible nitric oxide, PPARγ and Toll-like receptor 4 in LPS-treated human monocytes. PF from VOO also prevented the deregulation of human monocyte subset distribution by LPS and blocked the genetic signature of M1 macrophages while favouring the phenotype of M2 macrophages upon canonical polarisation of naïve human macrophages. For the first time, our study provides several lines of in vivo and in vitro evidence that VOO and PF from VOO target and counteract inflammatory pathways in the monocyte–macrophage lineage of mice with pristane-induced SLE and of healthy subjects, which is a meaningful foundation for further development and application in preclinical and clinical use of PF from VOO in patients with SLE.

Olive oil is considered to be one of the most healthy dietary fats. However, several types of olive oils are present in the market. A key question for the consumer is: What of the olive oils is the best when concerning nutritional purposes? With the data available at present, the answer is: the Virgin Olive Oil (VOO), rich in phenolic compounds. On November 2011, the European Food Safety Authority released a claim concerning the benefits of daily ingestion of olive oil rich in phenolic compounds, such as VOO. In this review, we summarised the key work that has provided the evidence of the benefits of VOO consumption on other types of edible oils, even olive oils. We focused on data from randomised, controlled human studies, which are capable of providing the evidence of Level I that is required for performing nutritional recommendations at population level.

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the possible influence of virgin olive oil (VOO) on the effect of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in platelet aggregation, prostanoid and NO production and retinal vascular pattern in rats with experimental type 1-like diabetes. We used 100 male Wistar rats that were distributed into five groups: (1) non-diabetic rats (NDR); (2) untreated diabetic rats (DR); (3) DR treated with ASA (2 mg/kg per d per os (p.o.)); (4) DR treated with VOO (0·5 ml/kg per d p.o.); (5) DR treated with ASA plus VOO. The duration of diabetes was 3 months, and each treatment was administered from the first day of diabetes. Variables that were quantified were platelet aggregation (Imax), thromboxane B2 (TxB2), aortic prostacyclin (6-keto-PGF1α) and NO, and the percentage of retina with horseradish peroxidase-permeable vessels (HRP-PV). Diabetic rats showed a higher Imax (35 %) and TxB2 (63 %) than NDR, and a lower 6-keto-PGF1α, NO and HRP-PV than NDR ( − 74·6 %). ASA and VOO administration reduced these differences and prevented the percentage of HRP-PV ( − 59·7 % with ASA and − 46·7 % with VOO). The administration of ASA plus VOO showed a strong platelet inhibition (80·2 v. 23·4 % for VOO and 50·6 % for ASA+VOO, P < 0·0001), and reduced HRP-PV differences to − 31·6 % (P < 0·001 with respect to DR and P < 0·0001 with respect to DR treated with ASA). In conclusion, the administration of VOO to rats with type 1-like diabetes mellitus improves the pharmacodynamic profile of ASA, and increases its retinal anti-ischaemic effect.

Minor components from dietary oils can modulate the atherogenic response of the TAG-rich lipoproteins (TRL) in which they are transported. In the present study we investigated the influence of TRL isolated from man after the intake of oleic acid-rich oils with different minor component compositions on VLDL secretion by rat primary hepatocytes. TRL were isolated from nine men after the intake of meals enriched with high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) or virgin olive oil (VOO) or VOO enriched with minor components (EVO). TRL were incubated with rat primary hepatocytes and the lipid accumulation was analysed in the cells and the secreted VLDL. The expression of genes for proteins related to hepatic lipid metabolism and VLDL production was also measured. Incubation of hepatocytes with TRL derived from HOSO as compared to VOO led to lower intracellular lipid accumulation and VLDL production despite higher mRNA expression for diacylglycerol-acyltransferase, microsomal TAG transfer protein, apoB and PPARα. When TRL derived from EVO were used there were no changes in VLDL secretion. These results suggest that incorporation of minor components from dietary high-oleic oils into TRL modulates the effect of these atherogenic particles on VLDL secretion.

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the relationship between food and health. Concerns have been raised about dietary fats and their relative nutritional advantages or disadvantages. In investigations of the associations between health and fat intake, special emphasis has been placed on the benefits of virgin olive oil for counteracting certain neurodegenerative diseases and ageing. With respect to ageing, accumulating evidence indicates that an improvement in quality of life can be reached by modulation of the extrinsic factors that influence many ageing processes. Of the modifiable factors, nutrition appears to be one of the strongest elements known to influence the rate of ageing as well as the incidence of age-associated diseases such as atherosclerosis and neurodegenerative pathologies.

This paper reviews the theory of ageing and the role of fatty acids in the mechanisms affecting its evolution. It also confirms that virgin olive oil, an essential component of the Mediterranean diet, provides large amounts of stable and not easily oxidisable fatty acids as well as remarkable quantities of powerful antioxidant molecules.

In the present study we examined whether two virgin olive oils (VOO1 and VOO2), of the same variety (Olea europaea var. hojiblanca) and with a similar composition of minor components but differing in the content of triacylglycerol molecular species, had different effects on blood pressure and plasma lipid levels in a healthy elderly population. Thirty-one participants, aged 84·9 (SD 6·4) years, were asked to participate in the study. No differences were found with regard to blood pressure after both experimental periods (VOO1 and VOO2). However, plasma total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol were reduced only after VOO1 (P<0·01). The reduction of plasma cholesterol concentrations was related to the incorporation of oleic acid into plasma cholesteryl esters and phospholipids, which was higher after VOO1 (P<0·01). Indeed, the oleic acid concentration in cholesteryl esters and phospholipids strongly correlated with plasma total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels in all experimental periods studied (r2>0·418, P<0·07), except for phospholipids in VOO1 (P=0·130 for total cholesterol and P=0·360 for LDL-cholesterol). These results have demonstrated that blood pressure and plasma lipids can be modified by the consumption of VOO in elderly people, but that the extent of such modification depends on the composition and amount of active minor components and triacylglycerol molecular species.

The effects of non-fried and fried virgin olive and sunflower oils on rat liver microsomal compositional features have been investigated. In addition, plasma antioxidants (α-tocopherol and ubiquinone 9) were investigated as well as the possible oxidative modifications suffered by virgin olive and sunflower oils during the frying process. The frying process decreased the content of α-tocopherol and phenolics in the oils and increased total polar materials. Sunflower oil was affected to a greater extent than olive oil. In rats, the intake of fried oil led to higher levels of lipid peroxidation and a lower concentration of plasma antioxidants. Microsomal fatty acid and antioxidant profiles were also altered. It seems that a strong relationship exists between the loss of antioxidants and the production of toxic compounds in the oils after frying and the extent of the peroxidative events in microsomes, which were also different depending on the fat source. The highly unsaturated sunflower oil was less resistant to the oxidative stress produced by frying and led to a higher degree of lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes in vivo than virgin olive oil.