Chapter 46 - Antiinflammatory activity exerted by minor compounds found in virgin olive oils

Abstract

Nowadays chronic inflammation is remarked as one of the main causes of several diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, or neurological diseases. Lifestyle and diet are key factors of the development of chronic inflammation. Because of that, in the last years Mediterranean diet has been granted as an antiinflammatory diet, where virgin olive oil from vegetable origin is one of the main actors because it is use as the main fat of Mediterranean diet. Virgin olive oil is mainly composed by oleic acid; but there are many minor compounds present in it, such as squalene, pinoresinol, uvaol, erythrodiol, oleanolic acid, or maslinic acid, which possess per se many bioactive activities in inflammation, as long as in other diseases as cancer or cardiovascular diseases. Because of their presence, it is believed that virgin olive oil possesses the beneficial actions described in the last decades. In this chapter, inflammation properties of several minor compounds present in virgin olive oil have been described and explained.