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Review
. 2022 Sep 13;14(18):3773.
doi: 10.3390/nu14183773.

Metabolism and Bioavailability of Olive Bioactive Constituents Based on In Vitro, In Vivo and Human Studies

Theodora Nikou  1 , Maria Eleni Sakavitsi  1 , Evangelos Kalampokis  1 , Maria Halabalaki  1
Affiliations
Review

Metabolism and Bioavailability of Olive Bioactive Constituents Based on In Vitro, In Vivo and Human Studies

Theodora Nikou et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Consumption of olive products has been established as a health-promoting dietary pattern due to their high content in compounds with eminent pharmacological properties and well-described bioactivities. However, their metabolism has not yet been fully described. The present critical review aimed to gather all scientific data of the past two decades regarding the absorption and metabolism of the foremost olive compounds, specifically of the phenylalcohols hydroxytyrosol (HTyr) and tyrosol (Tyr) and the secoiridoids oleacein (Olea), oleocanthal (Oleo) and oleuropein (Oleu). A meticulous record of the in vitro assays and in vivo (animals and humans) studies of the characteristic olive compounds was cited, and a critical discussion on their bioavailability and metabolism was performed taking into account data from their gut microbial metabolism. The existing critical review summarizes the existing knowledge regarding the bioavailability and metabolism of olive-characteristic phenylalchohols and secoiridoids and spotlights the lack of data for specific chemical groups and compounds. Critical observations and conclusions were derived from correlating structure with bioavailability data, while results from in vitro, animal and human studies were compared and discussed, giving significant insight to the future design of research approaches for the total bioavailability and metabolism exploration thereof.

Keywords: ADMET properties; human studies; hydroxytyrosol; in vitro assays; in vivo; metabolism; oleacein; oleocanthal; oleuropein; tyrosol.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures and formation of oleuropein (Oleu) and ligstroside (Lig) aglycones, oleocanthal (Oleo), oleacein (Olea), hydroxytyrosol (HTyr) and tyrosol (Tyr).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bar chart of the number of research articles for the ADMET properties of olive-characteristic compounds categorized in in vitro, animal and human studies. In each bar, the respective number of publications is illustrated. HTyr: hydroxytyrosol, Tyr: tyrosol, Oleu: oleuropein, Oleo: oleocanthal, Olea: oleacein, Oleu aglycone: oleuropein aglycone, EOO: enriched olive oil. Time span 2000–2020.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Biosynthesis and metabolism of hydroxytyrosol (HTyr) in in vivo systems. TH: tyrosine hydroxylase, DDC: dopa decarboxylase, MAO: monoaminoxidase, ALR: aldehyde reductase, ADH: alcohol dehydrogenase, ALDH: aldehyde dehydrogenase, COMT: catechol-O-methyl transferase, UGT: uridine 5′-diphosphoglucuronosyl transferases, SULF: sulfotransferase, ACT: O-acetyltransferase.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Metabolism of oleuropein (Oleu) in in vivo systems. The gray squares represent the parts of secoiridoids that are neglected so far.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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