A large body of literature associated extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) consumption with low risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality. However, findings from clinical trials related to EVOO consumption on blood pressure, lipid profile, and anthropometric and inflammation parameters are not univocal.
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of EVOO consumption on cardiometabolic risk factors and inflammatory mediators.
We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Cochrane up through 31 March, 2023, without any particular language limitations, in order to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that examined the effects of EVOO consumption on cardiometabolic risk factors, inflammatory mediators, and anthropometric indices. Outcomes were summarized as standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) estimated from Hedge\'s g and random-effects modeling. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran Q-statistic and quantified (I2).
Thirty-three trials involving 2020 participants were included. EVOO consumption was associated with a significant decrease in insulin (n = 10; SMD: -0.28; 95% CI: -0.51, -0.05; I2 = 48.57%) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance levels (HOMA-IR) (n = 9; SMD: -0.19; 95% CI: -0.35, -0.03; I2 = 00.00%). This meta-analysis indicated no significant effect of consuming EVOO on fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low density lipoproteins, very low density lipoproteins, high density lipoproteins, Apolipoprotein (Apo) A-I and B, lipoprotein a, blood pressure, body mass index, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, and tumor necrosis factor α levels (P > 0.05).
The present evidence supports a beneficial effect of EVOO consumption on serum insulin levels and HOMA-IR. However, larger well-designed RCTs are still required to evaluate the effect of EVOO on cardiometabolic risk biomarkers. This study was registered in PROSPERO as CRD42023409125.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in high-risk groups and the polyphenols in EVOO play an important health effect on it. As one of the most abundant polyphenols in EVOO, oleacein (OLEA) has many health benefits. However, there is no review article that focus comprehensively on OLEA, and most articles have limited data and information on OLEA. The purpose of this review is to summarize the results of all available studies, to present and compare the main traditional and novel techniques for the extraction and isolation and purification of OLEA, to elucidate the absorption and metabolic pathways of OLEA, and finally, to illustrate the health-promoting properties. Hopefully, this review can promote the use of OLEA in functional foods and therapeutic fields.

Most chronic diseases are preventable with a healthy diet, although there is debate about the optimal dietary approach. Increasingly more countries are focusing on food-based guidelines rather than the traditional nutrient-based approach. Although there is good agreement on plant foods, controversy remains about the types and amounts of fats and oils. This narrative review aims to systematically summarize and evaluate the latest evidence on the protective effects of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) on disease risk factors. A systematic search of the relevant literature using PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Embase databases was conducted for the years 2000 through December 2022. A narrative synthesis was then undertaken. Of 281 retrieved articles, 34 articles fulfilled our inclusion criteria and were included. Compared with other dietary fats and low-fat diets, EVOO is superior in the management of clinical biomarkers including lowering blood pressure and LDL-c, increasing protective HDL-c, improving glycemic control, and weight management. The protective effects of EVOO are likely due to its polyphenol content rather than the monounsaturated fat content. It is therefore important to promote the regular use of EVOO in the context of healthy dietary patterns such as the Mediterranean diet for maximal health benefit.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major causes of death across the world and incidence rate of CRC increasing alarmingly each passing year. Diet, genomic anomalies, inflammation and deregulated signalling pathways are among the major causes of CRC. Because of numerous side effects of CRC therapies available now, researchers all over the world looking for alternative treatment/preventive strategy with lesser/no side effects. Olive oil which is part of Mediterranean diet contains numerous phenolic compounds that fight against free radicals and inflammation and also well-known for protective role against CRC. The current review focused on the recent evidences where olive oil and its phenolic compounds such as hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein and oleocanthal showed activities against CRC as well to analyse the cellular and molecular signalling mechanism through which these compounds act on. These compounds shown to combat CRC by reducing proliferation, migration, invasion and angiogenesis through regulation of numerous signalling pathways including MAPK pathway, PI3K-Akt pathway and Wnt/β-catenin pathway and at the same time, induce apoptosis in different CRC model. However, further research is an absolute necessity to establish these compounds as nutritional supplements and develop therapeutic strategy in CRC.

Several health benefits are contributed to extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). The polyphenol fraction of EVOO may be responsible for its cardioprotective impacts. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the effect of EVOO intake on glycemic parameters. Electronic literature searched through 1 September 2020 across MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, and SCOPUS databases to find all clinical trials that reported the effect of EVOO intake on glycemic parameters [FBS(fasting blood glucose), insulin, HOMA-IR (Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance) and HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin A1c)] vs. control.
We pooled standardized mean differences (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from randomized clinical trials (RCTs) using random-effects models. Heterogeneity was assessed by Cochran Q-statistic and quantified (I2). We found 13 related trials comprising a total of 633 subjects. In pooled analysis, EVOO intake had no effect on FBS (SMD: -0.07; 95% CI: -0.20, 0.07; I2 = 0.0%), insulin (SMD: -0.32; 95% CI: -0.70, 0.06; I2 = 38.0%), and HOMA-IR (SMD: -0.32; 95% CI: -0.75, 0.10; I2 = 51.0%). However, a decreasing trend was observed in these effects. Subgroup analysis based on age, health status, dose, and EVOO intake duration also did not significantly change results.
Although EVOO seems a promising hypoglycemic effects, we did not find any significant evidence that EVOO consumption impacts glucose homeostasis. Furthermore, well-designed RCTs with longer durations are still needed to evaluate the EVOO\'s efficacy on glycemic parameters.

Many studies demonstrated that olive oil (especially extra virgin olive oil: EVOO) phenolic compounds are bioactive molecules with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging and neuroprotective activities. These effects have been recently attributed to the ability of these compounds to induce epigenetics modifications such as miRNAs expression, DNA methylation and histone modifications. In this study, we systematically review and discuss, following the PRISMA statements, the epigenetic modifications induced by EVOO and its phenols in different experimental systems. At the end of literature search through \"PubMed\", \"Web of Science\" and \"Scopus\", 43 studies were selected.Among them, 22 studies reported data on miRNAs, 15 on DNA methylation and 13 on histone modification. Most of the \"epigenomic\" changes observed in response to olive oil phenols\' exposure were mechanistically associated with the cancer preventive and anti-inflammatory effects. In many cases, the epigenetics effects regarding the DNA methylation were demonstrated for olive oil but without any indication regarding the presence or not of phenols. Overall, the findings of the present systematic review may have important implications for understanding the epigenetic mechanisms behind the health effects of olive oil. However, generally no direct evidence was provided for the causal relationships between epigenetics modification and EVOO health related effects. Further studies are necessary to demonstrate the real physiological consequences of the epigenetics modification induced by EVOO and its phenolic compounds.

This network meta-analysis (NMA) compares the effects of different types of olive oil (OO) on cardiovascular risk factors.
Literature search was conducted on three electronic databases (Medline, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central).
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (≥3 weeks duration of intervention) comparing at least two of the following types of OO: refined OO (ROO), mixed OO (MOO), low phenolic (extra) virgin OO (LP(E)VOO), and high phenolic (extra) virgin OO (HP(E)VOO). Random-effects NMA was performed for seven outcomes; and surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was estimated, using an analytical approach (P-score). Thirteen RCTs (16 reports) with 611 mainly healthy participants (mean age: 26-70 years) were identified. No differences for total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triacylglycerols, and diastolic blood pressure were observed comparing ROO, MOO, LP(E)VOO and HP(E)VOO. HP(E)VOO slightly reduce LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) compared to LP(E)VOO (mean difference [MD]: -0.14 mmol/L, 95%-CI: -0.28, -0.01). Both, HP(E)VOO and LP(E)VOO reduces SBP compared to ROO (range of MD: -2.99 to -2.87 mmHg), and HP(E)VOO may improve oxidized LDL-cholesterol (oxLDL-C) compared to ROO (standardized MD: -0.68, 95%-CI: -1.31, -0.04). In secondary analyses, EVOO may reduce oxLDL-C compared to ROO, and a dose-response relationship between higher intakes of phenolic compounds from OO and lower SBP and oxLDL-C values was detected. HP(E)VOO was ranked as best treatment for LDL-C (P-score: 0.83), oxLDL-C (0.88), and SBP (0.75).
HP(E)VOO may improve some cardiovascular risk factors, however, public health implications are limited by overall low or moderate certainty of evidence.

The presence of some healthy phytochemicals in food can be paired with high bitterness, and consumers have a widespread avoidance toward bitter-tasting food. This causes a gap between preferences and healthy needs of consumers. Therefore, this review collected insights from literature belonging to different discipline domains in order to have a broad view of the current state-of-the-art about biochemical aspects and consumers\' perceptions and preferences toward foods with an enhanced bitter taste. In detail, we focused on two core products of the Mediterranean diet: Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) and Brassicaceae, both characterized by specific phytochemicals having strong healthy properties and bitter-pungent taste. Results suggested that, although bitter taste is a general driver of dislike, some exceptions can be represented by: niches of consumers (e.g., innovators and organic buyers), foods consumed with specific purposes (e.g., coffee, chocolate, and alcoholic beverages). The level of bitterness perceived by the consumers can be modulated through exposure, information on benefits, and elements within the environment (e.g., music). Thus, these insights can be used to develop specific campaigns aimed at promoting bitter (healthy) food, considering also the key role that could be played by food pairings.