The mystery of exactly how consumption of extra virgin olive
oil helps reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may lie in one component
of olive oil that helps shuttle the abnormal AD proteins out of the brain,
scientists are reporting in a new study. It appears in the journal ACS Chemical
Neuroscience.
Amal Kaddoumi and colleagues note that AD affects about 30
million people worldwide, but the prevalence is lower in Mediterranean
countries. Scientists once attributed it to the high concentration of healthful
monounsaturated fats in olive oil — consumed in large amounts in the
Mediterranean diet. Newer research suggested that the actual protective agent
might be a substance called oleocanthal, which has effects that protect nerve
cells from the kind of damage that occurs in AD. Kaddoumi’s team sought
evidence on whether oleocanthal helps decrease the accumulation of beta-amyloid
(Aβ) in the brain, believed to be the culprit in AD.