Olive oil may have pain-relieving powers Wed Aug 31,11:28 AM ET

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Olive oil may have pain-relieving powers

Wed Aug 31,11:28 AM ET

 

 

 

Olive oil may have pain-relieving powers

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Have a headache? No aspirin or ibuprofen

handy? Try some olive oil -- actually, freshly pressed extra-virgin

olive oil would be best, according to a group of chemists, who've

discovered that it contains a compound that mimics the pain-

relieving action of ibuprofen.

 

 

The compound, called oleocanthal, blocks the same pain pathway as

ibuprofen, a member of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,

Paul A. S. Breslin from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in

Philadelphia and colleagues report in the journal Nature this week.

 

According to Breslin and colleagues, oleocanthal in newly pressed

extra-virgin olive oil and ibuprofen (in solution) both produce a

strong stinging sensation in the throat, an indicator of a " shared

pharmacological activity, with oleocanthal acting as a natural anti-

inflammatory compound that has a potency and profile strikingly

similar to that of ibuprofen. "

 

In tests conducted on different premium olive oils, the chemists

found a strong positive link between levels of oleocanthal and its

intensity as a throat irritant. Similar results were achieved in

tests of a synthetic version of oleocanthal they created, confirming

that this compound is in fact the active ingredient in olive oil.

 

According to the chemists, oleocanthal, like ibuprofen, inhibits so-

called COX enzymes in a dose-dependent fashion -- the higher the

dose the greater the inhibition.

 

By their calculations, a 50-gram daily dose of olive oil is equal to

about 10 percent of the ibuprofen dose recommended for pain relief

in an adult.

 

So, while it won't cure a headache, regular consumption of olive oil

might have some of the long-term health benefits of ibuprofen,

researchers say. The identification of an ibuprofen-like oleocanthal

in olive oil also provides a possible explanation for the well known

health benefits of an olive oil-rich Mediterranean diet.

 

" Our findings raise the possibility that long-term consumption of

oleocanthal may help to protect against some diseases by virtue of

its ibuprofen-like COX-inhibiting activity, " Breslin and colleagues

write.

 

SOURCE: Nature, August 31, 2005.

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