Invited Speaker

Oleuropein and Related Compounds from Olive Plants Reduce Diet-induced Atherosclerosis in apoE Knockout Mice
Paul L. Huang
USA

Population-based studies demonstrate that a Mediterranean diet enriched in olive oil is associated with protection against atherosclerosis. Although part of this protection is due to the effect of the polyunsaturated fatty acid component of olive oil on serum lipid profile, the polyphenol oleuropein and its derivatives have been shown in cell culture to possess antioxidant activity and to modulate bioavailable NO generated by endothelial cells. In this study, we used the apoE knockout mouse model to test whether oleuropein and its derivatives affect the development of diet-induced atherosclerotic lesions in vivo. apoE knockout mice fed a diet that contains 42% of calories from fat develop atherosclerosis reproducibly, with appearance of fatty streaks in the intima as early as 3 weeks, and progressive accumulation of lipid and monocyte adherence to the endothelium by 5 weeks. We found that oleuropein reduces diet-induced atherosclerosis in apoE knockout mice, as assessed by en face Oil Red O staining of aortic atherosclerotic lesions. These results show, for the first time, that oleuropein, administered to intact animals in the absence of the lipid components of olive oil, reduces the amount of atherosclerosis in a model relevant to human disease.