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Protective effect of oleuropein, an olive oil biophenol, on low density lipoprotein oxidizability in rabbits

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Lipids

Abstract

On the basis of the results obtained with pilot studies conducted in vitro on human low density lipoprotein (LDL) and on cell cultures (Caco-2), which had indicated the ability of certain molecules present in olive oil to inhibit prooxidative processes, an in vivo study was made of laboratory rabbits fed special diets. Three different diets were prepared: a standard diet for rabbits (diet A), a standard diet for rabbits modified by the addition of 10% (w/w) extra virgin olive oil (diet B), a modified standard diet for rabbits (diet C) differing from diet B only in the addition of 7 mg kg−1 of oleuropein. A series of biochemical parameters was therefore identified, both in the rabbit plasma and the related isolated LDL, before and after Cu-induced oxidation. The following, in particular, were selected: (i) biophenols, vitamins E and C, uric acid, and total, free, and ester cholesterol in the plasma; (ii) proteins, triglycerides, phospholipids, and total, free, and ester cholesterol in the native LDL (for the latter, the dimensions were also measured); (iii) lipid hydroperoxides, aldehydes, conjugated dienes, and relative electrophoretic mobility (REM) in the oxidized LDL (ox-LDL). In an attempt to summarize the results obtained, it can be said that this investigation has not only verified the antioxidant efficacy of extra virgin olive oil biophenols and, in particular, of oleuropein, but has also revealed a series of thus far unknown effects of the latter on the plasmatic lipid situation. In fact, the addition of oleuropein in diet C increased the ability of LDL to resist oxidation (less conjugated diene formation) and, at the same time, reduced the plasmatic levels of total, free, and ester cholesterol (−15, −12, and −17%, respectively), giving rise to a redistribution of the lipidic components of LDL (greater phospholipid and cholesterol amounts) with an indirect effect on their dimesions (bigger by about 12%).

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Abbreviations

EDRF:

endothelial release factor

4-HNE:

4-hydroxy-2(E)-nonenal

HPLC:

high-performance liquid chromatography

LDL:

low density lipoprotein

MDA:

malondialdehyde

ox-LDL:

oxidized LDL

PBS:

phosphate-buffered saline

PGGE:

polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis

REM:

relative electrophoretic mobility

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Metabolism and Pathological Biochemistry Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161, Rome, Italy

    R. Masella & D. Modesti

  2. Psychobiology Department, Universidade Federal de Saõ Paulo, 04023-062, Saõ Paulo, Brazil

    R. Mattei & E. A. Carlini

  3. Food Dept., Istituto Superiore di Sanità, viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy

    E. Coni, R. Di Benedetto & M. Di Pasquale

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  1. E. Coni
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  2. R. Di Benedetto
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  3. M. Di Pasquale
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  4. R. Masella
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Coni, E., Di Benedetto, R., Di Pasquale, M. et al. Protective effect of oleuropein, an olive oil biophenol, on low density lipoprotein oxidizability in rabbits. Lipids 35, 45–54 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-000-0493-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11745-000-0493-2

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