Olive Pomace Oil versus High Oleic Sunflower Oil and Sunflower Oil: A Comparative Study in Healthy and Cardiovascular Risk Humans

Abstract

Olive pomace oil (OPO) is mainly a source of monounsaturated fat together with a wide variety of bioactive compounds, such as triterpenic acids and dialcohols, squalene, tocopherols, sterols and aliphatic fatty alcohols. To date, two long-term intervention studies have evaluated OPO’s health effects in comparison with high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO, study-1) and sunflower oil (SO, study-2) in healthy and cardiovascular risk subjects. The present study integrates the health effects observed with the three oils. Two randomized, blinded, cross-over controlled clinical trials were carried out in 65 normocholesterolemic and 67 moderately hypercholesterolemic subjects. Each study lasted fourteen weeks, with two four-week intervention phases (OPO versus HOSO or SO), each preceded by a three-week run-in or washout period. Regular OPO consumption reduced total cholesterol (p = 0.017) and LDL cholesterol (p = 0.018) levels as well as waist circumference (p = 0.026), and only within the healthy group did malondialdehyde (p = 0.004) levels decrease after OPO intake versus HOSO. Contrarily, after the SO intervention, apolipoprotein (Apo) B (p < 0.001) and Apo B/Apo A ratio (p < 0.001) increased, and to a lower extent Apo B increased with OPO. There were no differences between the study groups. OPO intake may improve cardiometabolic risk, particularly through reducing cholesterol-related parameters and waist circumference in healthy and hypercholesterolemic subjects.

Keywords: anthropometric parameters; clinical trial; high oleic sunflower oil; lipid peroxidation; lipid profile; olive pomace oil; sunflower oil.

Figure 1

Study design. The arrows indicate the visits performed.

Figure 2

Values represent the rate of change calculated from [(post-treatment value − pre-treatment value)/pre-treatment value] and the error bars represent standard error of mean (both expressed as percentage). n per group: normocholesterolemic: Olive pomace oil (OPO): n = 65, high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO): n = 34, sunflower oil (SO): n = 31; hypercholesterolemic: OPO: n = 67, HOSO: n = 30, SO: n = 37. According to the linear mixed model, the oil effect was significant: (A) p = 0.017; (B) p = 0.018; (C) p < 0.001; (D) p < 0.001. There were no significant differences between the study groups, neither oil × group interaction (p > 0.05). Apo: apolipoprotein.