Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, CITAB, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, UTAD, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
Molecules. 2017 Nov 16;22(11):1986. doi: 10.3390/molecules22111986.
Olive oil displays remarkable organoleptic and nutritional features, which turn it into a foodstuff appreciated by consumers, and a basic component of the Mediterranean diet. Indeed, the noticed benefits of including olive oil in the diet have been assigned to the presence of diverse bioactive compounds with different molecular structures. These compounds confer a wide range of biological properties to this food matrix, including the prevention of distinct human diseases as well as the modulation of their severity. The most relevant bioactive compounds present in olive oil correspond to benzoic and cinnamic acids, phenolic alcohols and secoiridoids, and also flavonoids. Over the last decades, several studies, devoted to gaining a further insight into the relative contribution of the separate groups and individual compounds for their biological activities, have been conducted, providing relevant information on structure-activity relationships. Therefore, this paper critically reviews the health benefits evidenced by distinct phenolic compounds found in olive oils, thus contributing to clarify the relationship between their chemical structures and biological functions, further supporting their interest as essential ingredients of wholesome foods.
橄榄油具有显著的感官和营养特性，使其成为消费者喜爱的食品，也是地中海饮食的基本组成部分。事实上，人们注意到在饮食中加入橄榄油的好处归因于存在多种具有不同分子结构的生物活性化合物。这些化合物赋予了这种食物基质广泛的生物学特性，包括预防多种人类疾病以及调节其严重程度。橄榄油中存在的最相关的生物活性化合物为苯甲酸和肉桂酸、酚醇和单萜烯，以及类黄酮。在过去的几十年中，进行了多项研究，旨在深入了解不同组和单个化合物对其生物活性的相对贡献，提供了关于构效关系的相关信息。因此，本文批判性地综述了不同橄榄油中发现的酚类化合物所证明的健康益处，从而有助于阐明它们的化学结构和生物学功能之间的关系，进一步支持它们作为健康食品基本成分的重要性。
