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Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of hydroxytyrosol are dependent on the food matrix in humans

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Abstract

Purpose

Several studies have demonstrated the properties of hydroxytyrosol, a phenolic compound present in olive oils and olives with a well-characterized impact on human health. Nevertheless, some knowledge gaps remain on its bioavailability and metabolism; overall concerning to the real rate per cent of absorption and biovailability of dietary hydroxytyrosol and the influence of the dietary food-containing hydroxytyrosol on it.

Methods

A double-blind study was performed including 20 volunteers who ingested 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol through diverse food matrices, to discover the influence on pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of HT metabolites (hydroxytyrosol acetate, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), tyrosol, and homovanillic alcohol) of the distinct matrices by UHPLC–ESI–QqQ–MS/MS.

Results

The HT pharmacokinetics after consumption of different food matrices was strongly dependent on the food matrix. In this aspect, the intake of extra virgin olive exhibited significantly higher plasma concentrations after 30 min of oral intake (3.79 ng/mL) relative to the control. Regarding the hydroxytyrosol bioavailability, the intake of extra virgin olive oil, as well as fortified refined olive, flax, and grapeseed oils provided significantly higher urinary contents (0.86, 0.63, 0.55, and 0.33 µg/mg creatinine, respectively) compared with basal urine, whereas hydroxytyrosol metabolites showed no significant changes. No differences were found between men and women.

Conclusions

The metabolic profile of hydroxytyrosol is influenced by the food matrix in which is incorporated, with the oily nature for the final bioavailability being relevant. Extra virgin olive oil was identified as the best matrix for this compound. The results described contribute to the understanding of the relevance of the food matrices for the final absorption of hydroxytyrosol and hence, the achievement of the highest health protection potential.

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Abbreviations

Amu:

Atomic mass unit

DOPAC:

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid

HT:

Hydroxytyrosol

HTA:

Hydroxytyrosol acetate

HValc:

Homovanillic alcohol

MRM:

Multiple reaction monitoring

SPE:

Solid phase extraction

Tyr:

Tyrosol

UHPLC–ESI–QqQ–MS/MS:

Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization and triple quadrupole mass spectrometry

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially funded by the “Fundación Séneca de la Región de Murcia” Grupo de Excelencia 19900/GERM/15, the Spanish project AGL2017-83386-R from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. R.D.P. was sponsored by a Postdoctoral Contract (Juan de la Cierva de Incorporación ICJI-2015-25373) from the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain. The authors thank the English expert reviewer (Mario G. Fon, MS) for the revision of the English style and grammar.

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Author notes

  1. Carolina Alemán-Jiménez and Raúl Domínguez-Perles contributed equally to the present work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. E.U. Human and Dietetic Nutrition, San Antonio Catholic University, Campus Los Jerónimos, s/n, 30107, Murcia, Spain

    Carolina Alemán-Jiménez, Agustín Simonelli-Muñoz & Maria Campillo-Cano

  2. Research Group on Quality, Safety, and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, Edif. 25, 30100, Espinardo, Murcia, Spain

    Raúl Domínguez-Perles, Sonia Medina, Iván López-González, Federico Ferreres & Ángel Gil-Izquierdo

  3. Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, CITAB, University of Trás-Os-Montes e Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801, Vila Real, Portugal

    Iva Prgomet

  4. Department of Food Technology and Nutrition, Molecular Recognition and Encapsulation Group (REM), San Antonio Catholic University, Campus Los Jerónimos, s/n, 30107, Murcia, Spain

    David Auñón

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  1. Carolina Alemán-Jiménez
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Correspondence to Sonia Medina or Ángel Gil-Izquierdo.

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Alemán-Jiménez, C., Domínguez-Perles, R., Medina, S. et al. Pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of hydroxytyrosol are dependent on the food matrix in humans. Eur J Nutr 60, 905–915 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-020-02295-0

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