Effect of extra virgin olive oil on glycaemia in healthy young subjects.

Abstract

In this approach we studied the glycaemia levels in 20 healthy young volunteers (26 ± 2 years), before and after a 30-day intake of 50 mL of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). We selected an oil rich in phenolic compounds (523 mg/L) with a high content of secoiridoidic derivatives (over 94.5%). The findings from our study reveal a significant decrease of glycaemia from 89.6 ± 6.8 to 82.7 ± 10.3 mg/dL (p<0.05), related to a long term daily intake of the study EVOO, as the only added fat. A significant increment of the HDL cholesterol, from 68.7 ± 11.5 to 75.2 ± 4.9 mg/dL, was also highlighted. Total cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, triglycerides, and blood pressure did not show significant variation after the 30-day consumption of this EVOO. So far, few articles have described the influence of EVOO consumption, on plasma glucose levels in humans. This effect is observed in a group of healthy young humans. Moreover, we confirm that the level of free hydroxytyrosol (OH-Tyr) in plasma increased up to fourfold (p<0.05) after the 30-day intake of this EVOO. In addition, the excretion in urine of the main metabolite of OH-Tyr, homovanillic acid (HVA), significantly increased.