A Hydroxytyrosol-Based Pharmaceutical Formulation for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial

In 2012 the 63% of worldwide deaths was been due to Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), mainly cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. WHO projections expect a globally increase of 15% for NCDs deaths between 2010 and 2020. CVD represents the major cause of death in the world (29,6%), and in Europe, despite the recent slight decrease, the mortality for CVD is still consistent. Among several CVD risk factors, obesity management and the reduction of bad eating habits could alleviate the increasing CVD gravity on worldwide deaths. Inflammation contributes significantly to the development of chronic diseases including CVDs and cancer. Dietary supplementation with antioxidants, including phenolic compounds obtained from plants, such as those contained in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), may help maintain a desirable prooxidative/antioxidative balance. The efficacy of the Mediterranean diet, enriched with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), was proved by the reduced incidence of major cardiovascular events in the Mediterranean population. This effect could be related to several changes of pathways involved in cardiometabolic risk, like resistance to oxidation and inflammation. EVOO supplementation brings several benefits on CVD, due to the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, vasodilatory and antiplatelet aggregation proprieties of its phenolic compounds, among which, the hydroxytirosol (2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) ethanol) (HT) has good effects on the prevention of CVD, High-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and antioxidant enzymes activity. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to assess, through a nutrigenomic approach, the antioxidant effects of HT and how they could exert a lipoperoxyl radical-scavenging activity, able to modulate gene expression of genes related to inflammatory pathways, and increase the levels of antioxidant compounds.