A substance found in extra virgin olive oil, and also present in significant quantities in processing by-products, has protective and antioxidant functions on brain cells, especially in older people.
Extra virgin olive oil is a food that slows brain ageing: confirmation comes from a study by the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology of the National Research Council (Cnr-Ibbc), published in Faseb Journal. A team of researchers led by Felice Tirone, together with some researchers from the University of Tuscia, has demonstrated in an elderly animal model that hydroxytyrosol, a compound naturally present in extra virgin olive oil, acts beneficially on the neural ageing process.
Hydroxytyrosol has, in fact, an antioxidant and protective role on the new neurons that are continuously produced in the brain, particularly in older individuals in whom the process of neurogenesis (the birth of new cells) progressively declines, causing, among other consequences, a drastic reduction in episodic memory. "The oral intake of hydroxytyrosol for one month keeps alive the new neurons produced during that period, both in adults and even more so in older people, in whom it also stimulates the proliferation of stem cells, from which neurons are generated," Tirone explained. "Furthermore, hydroxytyrosol, thanks to its antioxidant activity, is able to 'cleanse' nerve cells, because it also leads to a reduction of certain markers of ageing such as lipofuscins, which are accumulations of debris in neuronal cells."
"The dose taken daily during the trial is equivalent to the doses a person could take with an enriched diet and/or with supplements (approximately 500 mg/day per person) – the researchers explained – In any case, the intake of hydroxytyrosol would be even more effective if it occurred through the consumption of a functional food such as extra virgin olive oil." The results of this study therefore confirm the benefits to the body of the Mediterranean diet, which includes the consumption of extra virgin olive oil. Moreover, the research also opens up a potential ecological dimension: "The residues from olive processing, which are highly polluting, contain a large quantity of hydroxytyrosol: improving the separation procedures for the beneficial components during processing would make it possible to obtain hydroxytyrosol and reduce the environmental impact," Tirone concluded.