Potential health benefits of olive oil polyphenols in metabolic disorders management

Background

The protective effects of olive oil (OO) on metabolic health. Current research aims to elucidate the positive impacts of OO on emerging factors linked to metabolic diseases such as metabolic syndrome, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. These factors encompass inflammation, oxidative stress, platelet aggregation, coagulation, endothelial function, and lipid profile.

Methods

A comprehensive literature search was conducted using various electronic databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science, using the following keywords and combined synonyms: (”extra virgin olive oil”; ”virgin olive oil”; “metabolic syndrome”; “ type 2 diabetes”; ”diabetes mellitus”; “ obesity”; “atherosclerosis”; “Olive oil phenolic compounds”; “Olive oil polyphenols”; “ antioxidant activity”; and “Anti-inflammatory activity”).

Conclusion

Multiple studies have demonstrated that a diet rich in OO can aid in preventing atherosclerosis primarily by enhancing lipid profile. These favourable effects of OO are mainly ascribed to its abundance of phenolic compounds (PCs). Therefore, the bioactivity of olive oil phenolic compounds (OOPCs) could be related to various pharmacological characteristics such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anti-atherogenic, antithrombotic, antimutagenic, and hypoglycemic properties. Hydroxytyrosol (HT), tyrosol (Tr), Oleuropein (OLP), Oleocanthal (OLC), and Oleacein (OLE) are the PCs mainly involved in the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. This review focuses on appraising the current knowledge on the effect of OO, particularly its PCs, on metabolic diseases and discussing the underlying mechanism by which it exerts its effect.