Daily Use of Extra Virgin Olive Oil with High Oleocanthal Concentration Reduced Body Weight, Waist Circumference, Alanine Transaminase, Inflammatory Cytokines and Hepatic Steatosis in Subjects with the Metabolic Syndrome: A 2-Month Intervention Study

• Published in: Metabolites Vol. 10; no. 10; p. 392
• Main Authors: Patti, Angelo M., Carruba, Giuseppe, Cicero, Arrigo F. G., Banach, Maciej, Nikolic, Dragana, Giglio, Rosaria V., Terranova, Antonino, Soresi, Maurizio, Giannitrapani, Lydia, Montalto, Giuseppe, Stoian, Anca Pantea, Banerjee, Yajnavalka, Rizvi, Ali A., Toth, Peter P., Rizzo, Manfredi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 02.10.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Abdomen; Alanine; Alanine transaminase; Anti-inflammatory agents; Body mass index; Body weight; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Correlation analysis; Cytokines; Diabetes; Diet; Fatty liver; Fruits; Functional foods & nutraceuticals; IL-1β; Inflammation; Interleukin 1; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 6; Lipids; Metabolic syndrome; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; oleocanthal; Olive oil; Overweight; Oxidants; Phenolic compounds; Plasma; Polyphenols; Psychological aspects; Steatosis; Supplements; Transaminase; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Womens health; metabolic syndrome; polyphenols; olive oil; oleocanthal; cytokines
• ISSN: 2218-1989; 2218-1989
• DOI: 10.3390/metabo10100392

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) intake is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk, and its phenolic compound oleocanthal (OC) has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The cardiometabolic effects of EVOO with a high OC concentration have not been fully elucidated. We administered EVOO with a high OC concentration daily to 23 subjects with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and hepatic steatosis (15 men and 8 women, age: 60 ± 11 years) for 2 months. Anthropometric data, metabolic parameters, hepatic steatosis (by fatty liver index, FLI), abdominal fat distribution (by ultrasound), and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines were assessed before and after the intervention. EVOO supplementation was associated with a reduction in body weight, waist circumference, body mass index (BMI), alanine transaminase and FLI, as well as interleukin (IL)-6, IL-17A, tumor necrosis factor-α and IL-1B, while IL-10 increased. Maximum subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT max) also increased, with a concomitant decrease in the ratio of visceral fat layer thickness/SFT max. Correlation analysis revealed positive associations between changes in body weight and BMI and those in SFT max, along with an inverse association between changes in IL-6 and those in SFT max. In conclusion, ingestion of EVOO with a high OC concentration had beneficial effects on metabolic parameters, inflammatory cytokines and abdominal fat distribution in MetS subjects with hepatic steatosis, a category of patients at high cardiometabolic risk.