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Scientists have named their
discovery oleocanthal
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Have a headache? No aspirin or ibuprofen handy? Try some olive oil - actually,
freshly pressed extra-virgin olive oil would be best, according to a group of
chemists, who've discovered that it contains a compound that mimics the pain-relieving
action of ibuprofen.
A tasting experience at a molecular gastronomy meeting in Sicily led University
of Pennsylvania biologist Gary Beauchamp to analyse freshly pressed extra-virgin
olive oil, in which he found a chemical that acted like ibuprofen.
He and his team named their discovery oleocanthal and found that, although
it has a different chemistry, it has an effect similar to that of the non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory compound in the commercial pain-killer, they wrote in the
science journal Nature.
The importance of the finding lies in the fact that scientists believe to an
increasing extent that inflammation plays an important part in a variety of
chronic diseases like stroke, heart disease, and breast and lung cancer.
Pain-relieving powers
The compound found in ibuprofen, called oleocanthal, blocks the same pain pathway
as ibuprofen, a member of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Paul Breslin
from the Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia and colleagues report
in the journal Nature this week.
| "Our findings raise the possibility that
long-term consumption of oleocanthal may help to protect against some diseases
by virtue of its ibuprofen-like COX-inhibiting activity" |
Monell Chemical Senses Centre,
Philadelphia, USA |
According to Breslin and colleagues, oleocanthal in newly pressed extra-virgin
olive oil and ibuprofen (in solution) both produce a strong stinging sensation
in the throat, an indicator of a "shared pharmacological activity, with
oleocanthal acting as a natural anti-inflammatory compound that has a potency
and profile strikingly similar to that of ibuprofen."
In tests conducted on different premium olive oils, the chemists found a strong
positive link between levels of oleocanthal and its intensity as a throat irritant.
Similar results were achieved in tests of a synthetic version of oleocanthal
they created, confirming that this compound is in fact the active ingredient
in olive oil.
According to the chemists, oleocanthal, like ibuprofen, inhibits so-called
COX enzymes in a dose-dependent fashion - the higher the dose the greater the
inhibition.
Protection against diseases
By their calculations, a 50g daily dose of olive oil is equal to about 10% of
the ibuprofen dose recommended for pain relief in an adult.
So, while it won't cure a headache, regular consumption of olive oil might
have some of the long-term health benefits of ibuprofen, researchers say.
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A 50g daily dosage of olive
oil
equals up to 10% ibuprofen use |
