Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jan 22;13(1):130.
doi: 10.3390/antiox13010130.

High Tyrosol and Hydroxytyrosol Intake Reduces Arterial Inflammation and Atherosclerotic Lesion Microcalcification in Healthy Older Populations

Nada Zoubdane  1 , Redha-Alla Abdo  1 , Michel Nguyen  2 , M'hamed Bentourkia  3 , Eric E Turcotte  4 , Hicham Berrougui  1 , Tamas Fulop  1 , Abdelouahed Khalil  1
Affiliations

High Tyrosol and Hydroxytyrosol Intake Reduces Arterial Inflammation and Atherosclerotic Lesion Microcalcification in Healthy Older Populations

Nada Zoubdane et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Aging is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and convincing data have shown that chronic low-grade inflammation, which develops with advanced age, contributes significantly to cardiovascular risk. The present study aimed to use 18F-FDG/18F-NaF-PET/CT imaging to, respectively, gauge arterial inflammation and microcalcification in a healthy elderly population and to assess the potential benefits of a tyrosol- and hydroxytyrosol-rich diet on these two markers of atherosclerotic plaque fragility. Eleven healthy participants (mean age 75 ± 5.67 years) were supplemented for 6 months with high polyphenol-rich extra virgin olive oil (HP-EVOO), extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), or refined olive oil (ROO). The participants underwent PET/CT imaging with 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF radiotracers at baseline and after 6 months. 18F-FDG and 18F-NaF uptakes were quantified using standardized uptake values (SUV) and were categorized based on artery calcification and olive oil type. A total of 324 slices of the aortas of the imaged participants were analyzed for arterial inflammation and 327 slices were analyzed for microcalcification. 18F-FDG uptake was significantly higher in the non-calcified segments than in the calcified segments (SUVmax = 2.70 ± 0.62 and SUVmax = 2.54 ± 0.44, respectively, p < 0.042). Conversely, the non-calcified segments displayed significantly lower 18F-NaF uptake than the calcified segments (SUVmax = 1.90 ± 0.37 and 2.09 ± 0.24, respectively, p < 0.0001). The 6-month supplementation with HP-EVOO induced a significant reduction in 18F-FDG uptake in both the non-calcified (2.93 ± 0.23 to 2.75 ± 0.38, p < 0.004) and calcified segments of the aortas (2.25 ± 0.29 to 2.15 ± 0.19, p < 0.02). 18F-NaF uptake was also significantly lower in patients supplemented with HP-EVOO (SUVmax = 1.98 ± 0.33 at baseline compared to 1.85 ± 0.28, after the 6-month supplementation, p < 0.004), whereas no significant effect was observed with EVOO. Conversely, participants supplemented with ROO displayed a significant increase in 18F-NaF uptake (SUVmax = 1.78 ± 0.34 to 1.95 ± 0.34, p < 0.0001). The present study confirmed that a phenolic-compound-rich diet reduces both arterial inflammation and atherosclerotic lesion microcalcification and demonstrated that 18F-FDG/18F-NaF-PET/CT imaging is a valuable approach for assessing age-related arterial damage.

Keywords: 18F-FDG/18F-NaF; aging; atherosclerosis; hydroxytyrosol; positron emission tomography; tyrosol; vascular inflammation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transaxial PET/CT images of the aortas from one patient. Panels (A,C) portray the same arterial slice, which is devoid of CT-detected calcification. The PET scan in panel C detected significant 18F-FDG uptake. The corresponding CT and PET-18F-FDG of a calcified artery are, respectively, shown in (B,D). The arrow designates the calcified segment within the aorta.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the SUVmax values of calcified and non-calcified slices. Panel (A) SUVmax for 18F-FDG and panel (B) for 18F-NaF in calcified compared to non-calcified slices of the aorta. Values were determined at baseline for each participant. The data were obtained from transaxial image slices. The letter n is the number of artery slices evaluated for 18F-FDG or 18F-FDG uptake. **** p < 0.0001 and * p < 0.04.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of a 6-month supplementation with HP-EVOO intake on arterial inflammation and atherosclerotic lesion microcalcification. Panel (B), compared to panel (A), shows a decrease in 18F-FDG uptake after 6-month supplementation with HP-EVOO. Panel (D), compared to panel (C), shows a decrease in 18F-NaF uptake after 6-month supplementation with HP-EVOO.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of the SUVmax values for 18F-FDG at baseline and after 6-month supplementation with three different olive oils for (A) the non-calcified and (B) calcified segments of the aorta. ** p < 0.02.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of the SUVmax values for 18F-NaF uptake at baseline and after 6-month supplementation with three different olive oils for (A) the non-calcified and (B) calcified segments of the aorta. ** p < 0.002 and **** p < 0.0001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Yazdanyar A., Newman A.B. The burden of cardiovascular disease in the elderly: Morbidity, mortality, and costs. Clin. Geriatr. Med. 2009;25:563–577. doi: 10.1016/j.cger.2009.07.007. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weintraub H.S. Identifying the vulnerable patient with rupture-prone plaque. Am. J. Cardiol. 2008;101:3F–10F.3. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2008.04.013. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Soehnlein O., Libby P. Targeting inflammation in atherosclerosis—From experimental insights to the clinic. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 2021;20:589–610. doi: 10.1038/s41573-021-00198-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pedro-Botet J., Climent E., Benaiges D. Atherosclerosis and inflammation. New therapeutic approaches. Med. Clin. 2020;155:256–262. doi: 10.1016/j.medcli.2020.04.024. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Thomas J.C., Vohra R.S., Beer S., Bhatti K., Ponnambalam S., Homer-Vanniasinkam S. Biomarkers in peripheral arterial disease. Trends Cardiovasc. Med. 2009;19:147–151. doi: 10.1016/j.tcm.2009.08.001. - DOI - PubMed