Abstract
Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ocular diseases, including hypertensive eye diseases. The beneficial effects of olive oil on cardiovascular diseases might rely on minor constituents. Currently, very little is known about the chemical composition and/or therapeutic effects of the cultivated olive tree’s counterpart, wild olive (also known in Spain as acebuche—ACE). Here, we aimed to analyze the antioxidant and retinoprotective effects of ACE oil on the eye of hypertensive mice made hypertensive via administration of NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl-ester (L-NAME), which were subjected to a dietary supplementation with either ACE oil or extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for comparison purposes. Deep analyses of major and minor compounds present in both oils was accompanied by blood pressure monitoring, morphometric analyses, as well as different determinations of oxidative stress-related parameters in retinal layers. Aside from its antihypertensive effect, an ACE oil-enriched diet reduced NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidase activity/gene/protein expression (with a major implication of NADPH oxidase (NOX)2 isoform) in the retinas of hypertensive mice. Supplementation with ACE oil in hypertensive animals also improved alterations in nitric oxide bioavailability and in antioxidant enzyme profile. Interestingly, our findings show that the use of ACE oil resulted in better outcomes, compared with reference EVOO, against hypertension-related oxidative retinal damage.
Highlights
Mediterranean countries account for approximately 70% of all global olive oil (OO) production, which is mainly undertaken by Spain, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Morocco, and Tunisia [1]
Group), (3) normotensive mice supplemented with 12% of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO group), (4) hypertensive mice fed a standard pellet diet (L-NAME group), (5) L-NAME-induced hypertensive mice supplemented with 12% of ACE oil (LN+ACE group); and (6) L-NAME-induced hypertensive mice supplemented with 12% of EVOO
The fatty acid composition of ACE oil was similar to that of EVOO, the former had a higher content of palmitic (C16:0) and palmitoleic acid (C16:1; see Table 1)
Summary
Mediterranean countries account for approximately 70% of all global olive oil (OO) production, which is mainly undertaken by Spain, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Morocco, and Tunisia [1]. Have the beneficial effects of OO (Olea europaea L.) been evaluated in the context of the so-called Mediterranean diet [2] and due to its largely recognized bioactivity [3]. The regular consumption of OO is currently associated with beneficial effects on health due to its nutritional components. A large number of physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics is routinely used to define and classify an olive oil in different categories, following European Commission Regulation (ECC). Despite all the possible parameters to classify olive oils, the consensus is based on the maximum percentage values of free acidity, distinguishing between extra virgin olive oil Among the health benefits of EVOO, antioxidant, antitumoral and anti-inflammatory properties have been attributed to different components. Triacylglycerols are the main constituents of EVOO, followed by free fatty acids, glycerol, phosphatides, pigments, flavor compounds and sterols
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