(P03-028-24) Olive Oil Polyphenols and Vascular Health Biomarkers

Objectives: To compare the effects of a low polyphenol olive oil (LPOO) to a high polyphenol olive oil (HPOO) on cardiovascular disease risk markers in generally healthy adults.

Methods: This is an 8-week, single site, randomized, crossover trial. The intervention included following a low-polyphenol diet for the duration of the study. Subjects began with a 2-week run-in period, followed by daily consumption of 40 mL of HPOO or LPOO for 2 weeks with a 2-week washout period between treatments. At each study visit blood and urine samples were collected at fasting, and 2 hours and 4 hours post olive oil consumption to examine both short-term and acute effects. Food intake records were collected at each visit to asses diet composition and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) intake as a measure of dietary compliance. Outcomes related to vascular health include levels of blood oxidized LDL (oxLDL), endothelin-1 (ET-1), vascular call adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and paraoxonase-1 (PON1) activity.

Results: 26 metabolically healthy subjects (15 male, 11 female, aged 26.96 ± 6.09 years, BMI 25.91 ± 5.50 kg/m²) completed the intervention. Preliminary results indicate a significant increase of 2.44 mg/dL of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels by the end of the 2-week LPOO intervention (n = 25, p = 0.012). However, no significant difference between treatments on HDL-C levels was found. No significant changes to levels of total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total triglycerides (TG), oxidized LDL particles (oxLDL), or endothelin-1 (ET-1) were found after either intervention or between treatments. Analysis of VCAM-1, PON1, and lipoprotein subclass analysis are currently ongoing.

Conclusions: Preliminary results suggest low and high polyphenol olive oil may not differentially impact clinical lipid profiles in generally healthy adults.

Funding Sources: This study is internally funded.