Abstract
Neurological disorders such as stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases are associated with high morbidity and mortality, and few or no effective options are available for their treatment. These disorders share common pathological characteristics like the induction of oxidative stress, abnormal protein aggregation, perturbed Ca2+ homeostasis, excitotoxicity, inflammation and apoptosis. A large body of evidence supports the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet in preventing neurodegeneration. As the Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high consumption of extra-virgin olive oil it has been hypothesized that olive oil, and in particular its phenols, could be responsible for the beneficial effect of the Mediterranean diet. This review provides an updated vision of the beneficial properties of olive oil and olive oil phenols in preventing/counteracting both acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases.
Highlights
Neurodegenerative disorders, both chronic, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), and acute such as stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI), are associated with high morbidity and mortality, and few or no effective options are available for their treatment [1,2]
Mediterranean diet (MD) is characterized by a daily consumption of extra-virgin olive oil in amounts ranging from 25 to 50 g/day [29,30,31], so it has been hypothesized that olive oil phenols could in part be responsible for the beneficial effect of the MD [32,33]
The results demonstrated that olive oil extract was able to reduce mRNA levels and activity of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) and MMP-2 enzymes both in activated astrocytes and serum of multiple sclerosis patients, suggesting that olive oil might be useful in inhibiting the activity of gelatinases involved in the course of the inflammatory responses observed in MS
Summary
Neurodegenerative disorders, both chronic, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), and acute such as stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI), are associated with high morbidity and mortality, and few or no effective options are available for their treatment [1,2]. These diseases represent a primary health problem especially in the aging population [3]. This review provides an updated vision of the beneficial properties of olive oil and olive oil phytochemicals (phenols and triterpenes) in preventing/counteracting both acute and chronic neurodegenerative diseases
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