Cardioprotective and neuroprotective roles of oleuropein in olive

Abstract

Traditional diets of people living in the Mediterranean basin are, among other components, very rich in extra-virgin olive oil, the most typical source of visible fat. Olive is a priceless source of monounsaturated and di-unsaturated fatty acids, polyphenolic antioxidants and vitamins. Oleuropein is the main glycoside in olives and is responsible for the bitter taste of immature and unprocessed olives. Chemically, oleuropein is the ester of elenolic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl ethanol, which possesses beneficial effects on human health, such as antioxidant, antiatherogenic, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. The phenolic fraction extracted from the leaves of the olive tree, which contains significant amounts of oleuropein, prevents lipoprotein oxidation. In addition, oleuropein has shown cardioprotective effect against acute adriamycin cardiotoxicity and an anti-ischemic and hypolipidemic activities. Recently, oleuropein has shown neuroprotection by forming a non-covalent complex with the Aβ peptide, which is a key hallmark of several degenerative diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson. Thus, a large mass of research has been accumulating in the area of olive oil, in the attempt to provide evidence for the health benefits of olive oil consumption and to scientifically support the widespread adoption of traditional Mediterranean diet as a model of healthy eating. These results provide a molecular basis for some of the benefits potentially coming from oleuropein consumption and pave the way to further studies on the possible pharmacological use of oleuropein to prevent or to slow down the cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

Pretreatment Effect of Alcoholic Olive Leaf Extract on Oxidative and Antioxidative Enzymes Status in Ovariectomized Rats

“…To create anesthesia in animals' ketamine 40 mg/kg and xylazine 10 mg/kg of body weight was used (9). To remove the ovaries on each side, a longitudinal incision on the dorsolateral side was given and after access to the ovary, upper part of oviduct and lower part of ovary was ligatured by polyglycolide and ovaries were removed.…”

Biological Properties of Hydroxytyrosol and Its Derivatives

“…Antioxidant compounds supplied in the diet can reduce the risk of cancer due to the fact that they can minimize DNA damage, lipid peroxidation and the amount of ROS generated (Omar, 2010a;Hillestrom, 2006;Manna, 2005).…”

“…Hydroxytyrosol is a metabolite of oleuropein ( Fig. 1), another major phenolic component of olive products; they both give to extra-virgin olive oil its bitter and pungent taste (Omar, 2010a). Hydroxytyrosol shows a broad spectrum of biological properties due to its strong antioxidant and radical-scavenging properties.…”

Polyphenol profile and antioxidant activity of extracts from olive leaves

“…Health properties of polyphenolic antioxidant plant components and their potential use as natural food additives have been subject to high scientific and commercial interest Omar, 2010;Lafka et al, 2013). It is known that free radicals cause oxidative stress and therefore they can provoke damaging of DNA molecules, proteins and lipids in biological systems, leading to different diseases as atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases.…”