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. 2022 Jun 28;11(13):1915.
doi: 10.3390/foods11131915.

The Tower of Babel of Pharma-Food Study on Extra Virgin Olive Oil Polyphenols

Maria Lisa Clodoveo  1 , Marilena Muraglia  2 , Pasquale Crupi  1 , Rim Hachicha Hbaieb  3 , Stefania De Santis  2 , Addolorata Desantis  4 , Filomena Corbo  2
Affiliations

The Tower of Babel of Pharma-Food Study on Extra Virgin Olive Oil Polyphenols

Maria Lisa Clodoveo et al. Foods. .

Abstract

Much research has been conducted to reveal the functional properties of extra virgin olive oil polyphenols on human health once EVOO is consumed regularly as part of a balanced diet, as in the Mediterranean lifestyle. Despite the huge variety of research conducted, only one effect of EVOO polyphenols has been formally approved by EFSA as a health claim. This is probably because EFSA's scientific opinion is entrusted to scientific expertise about food and medical sciences, which adopt very different investigative methods and experimental languages, generating a gap in the scientific communication that is essential for the enhancement of the potentially useful effects of EVOO polyphenols on health. Through the model of the Tower of Babel, we propose a challenge for science communication, capable of disrupting the barriers between different scientific areas and building bridges through transparent data analysis from the different investigative methodologies at each stage of health benefits assessment. The goal of this work is the strategic, distinctive, and cost-effective integration of interdisciplinary experiences and technologies into a highly harmonious workflow, organized to build a factual understanding that translates, because of trade, into health benefits for buyers, promoting EVOOs as having certified health benefits, not just as condiments.

Keywords: EVOO; antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; health claim; human studies; polyphenols.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The metaphor of the Tower of Babel of the functional food research sector.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Workflow for pharma-food study on extra virgin olive oil polyphenols.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Most abundant polyphenols in olives: (a) tyrosol; (b) hydroxytyrosol; (c) oleuropein; (d) oleocanthal; and (e) verbascoside.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Polyphenol content in the different commercial categories of olive oils and olive-pomace oils [26].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Methods of analysis for polyphenols in EVOO extracts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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