Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases represent the principal cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is well-known that oxidative stress and inflammatory processes are strongly implicated in their pathogenesis; therefore, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory agents can represent effective tools. In recent years a large number of scientific reports have pointed out the nutraceutical and nutritional value of extra virgin olive oils (EVOO), strongholds of the Mediterranean diet, endowed with a high nutritional quality and defined as functional foods. In regard to EVOO, it is a food composed of a major saponifiable fraction, represented by oleic acid, and a minor unsaponifiable fraction, including a high number of vitamins, polyphenols, and squalene. Several reports suggest that the beneficial effects of EVOO are linked to the minor components, but recently, further studies have shed light on the health effects of the fatty fraction and the other constituents of the unsaponifiable fraction. In the first part of this review, an analysis of the clinical and preclinical evidence of the cardiovascular beneficial effects of each constituent is carried out. The second part of this review is dedicated to the main operating conditions during production and/or storage that can directly influence the shelf life of olive oil in terms of both nutraceutical properties and sensory quality.
Highlights
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a major health problem and, to date, the principal cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide [1]
Lifestyle and dietary modifications are strongly recommended as an efficient, early interventional approach to changing these modifiable risk factors, acting especially on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inflammatory markers
A search was conducted from January 2010 to June 2019 using the search terms listed in Table 1, Several suggest that the beneficial effects of EVOOScience are linked to theand minor components mainly in thereports following bibliographic databases: PubMed, Direct, Web of Science
Summary
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a major health problem and, to date, the principal cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide [1]. Considered as a whole, this evidence shows that EVOO is a functional food endowed with a healthy profile and the widely-studied phenolic component, as well as tocopherols and the MUFA (represented by oleic acid) fraction, can contribute in different ways and act on different types of molecular targets to ensure interesting pleiotropic effects In this regard, in 2004, based on numerous clinical trials carried out in the past few decades [17,18,19,20,21], the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and more recently the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), authorized the health claims for olive oil, suggesting a dose of 20–23 g/day as a replacement for the same amount of saturated fats to reduce the risk of coronary diseases [22,23]. The aim of this review has been twofold: firstly, an extensive analysis of clinical and preclinical evidence of cardiovascular beneficial effects of both unsaponifiable and saponifiable fractions of EVOO has been carried out; in the second part of the paper, the main operating conditions adopted during EVOO production and/or storage have been pointed out and critically discussed in order to highlight their influence on the concentration of health compounds in extracted oil as well as on their preservation during oil storage
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