Oleocanthal is a natural organic compound only found in high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oils. It belongs to the family of polyphenols, who come with antioxidant properties not only in olive oils but also in some other vegetable foods. The uniqueness of Oleocanthal are the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties at the same time. The discovery of this phenol has been made by Dr. Gary Beauchamp in 1999 at a molecular nutrition congress held in Sicily.
Among many technical works and essays done at the moment, probably the most incredible investigation made by Paul Breslin (colleague of Gary Beauchamp – Monell Center) together with biologists and oncologists David Foster and Onica Legendre (Hunters College) was that Oleocanthal kills cancer cells in just 30 minutes without any damage to healthy cells. This was an in vitro developed report.
Oleocanthal — a choice for a good lifestyle.
If our diet contains food that is not only tasting good, but also works against inflammations, the chances are very low that we belong to the growing number of people having chronic illnesses, over the past decades. It means that the “Mediterranean Diet”, high on nuts, whole grains, fish, vegetables, fruits and OLIVE OIL, is famous for exactly this reason. EVOO high on phenols is known to play a key role. Not long ago it was widely assumed that just the source of monounsaturated fatty acids were making the olive oil such a blessing only. But as Oleocanthal was accredited with its anti-inflammatory potential and Oleacein with its antioxidant activities – it is clearly proven that a good extra virgin olive oil rich in phenols, is far more than just a good fatty acid.
Is Oleocanthal to be considered a new agent for therapeutic use?
It was then in 2012 when the research team Drs. P. Magiatis and E. Melliou followed the ancient medical texts to the qualities of early harvest olive oil pressed from green olives. Their discovery was by using the sophisticated NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) method to measure precisely the phenolic compounds in olive oil: Oleocanthal and its partner Oleacein are found at the highest level in olive oil from green olives.
According to a study from 2016, Maria C. Monti (Università degli Studi di Salerno) noted, that latest “state of the art” confirms the health facts of EVOO consumption and suggested that Oleocanthal has definitely the potential to be a lead molecule of a new class of chemopreventive or therapeutic agents.” Since these discoveries, quite a number of olive oil brands get certified for their phenolic content, especially Oleocanthal and Oleacein.
The best medicine has always been PREVENTION. To set yourself on the path of health and vitality, the daily consumption of high phenolic extra virgin olive oil (especially rich in Oleocanthal and Oleacein) might be the choice. It comes all natural, very bioavailable and there are no contraindications when taken in considerable amounts.
List of important studies about Oleocanthal: