橄榄油的两项神奇功能

首轮橄榄油（extra virgin olive oil）通常被认为是最健康的食用油（【注1】），专家甚至建议除了首轮橄榄油，其它油尽量别吃。不过它焦点较低，不宜煎炒，所以凡是遇到煎炒炸，得用菜油之类的。

大家知道的就不废话了。提提两项，都与首轮橄榄油里的成分Oleocanthal有关。

（一）能预防老年痴呆症
这是路易斯安那大学的一个研究队的结果。

（二）有高效杀癌细胞的能力
这是罗格斯大学最近的一个研究队的结果。这结果很神奇，“an ingredient in extra-virgin olive oil kills a variety of human cancer cells without harming healthy cells”。

2013.03.31 Huff Post
Oleocanthal, Compound In Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Could Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease

2015.02.12 罗格斯大学
Ingredient in Olive Oil Looks Promising in the Fight Against Cancer

两个项目还算是研究阶段，一旦验证，自然更加肯定首轮橄榄油的价值，不过未必等于一种高效能的药剂来直接用到人的身上。多吃是好事。


【注1】据报道，在美国市面上的冷压首轮橄榄油（cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil）的质量一般不佳。



2013.03.31 Huff Post
Oleocanthal, Compound In Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Could Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease
Here’s one more possible benefit of eating a Mediterranean diet.

Researchers from the University of Louisiana are a step closer to understanding why Alzheimer's disease seems to be not as common in Mediterranean countries, and the possible role olive oil may play in protecting against the memory-robbing disease.

Since previous research had shown that a compound in extra-virgin olive oil called oleocanthal protected nerve cells from the damage that Alzheimer’s inflicts, the scientists led by Amal Kaddoumi set out to see if oleocanthal could decrease levels of amyloid beta -- known to play a role in Alzheimer's -- from accumulating in the brain.

The researchers examined cultured brain cells from laboratory mice, who for two weeks were administered a dose of extracted oleocanthal from extra virgin olive oil twice daily. They found that oleocanthal seemed to increase production of proteins and enzymes necessary to remove amyloid beta from the brain.

The new findings are published in the journal ACS Chemical Neuroscience.

The Mediterranean diet is already known to be heart-healthy and possibly even life-lengthening, so add this newest finding to the list of reasons to eat a diet high in fish, produce and olive oil.


2015.02.12 罗格斯大学
Ingredient in Olive Oil Looks Promising in the Fight Against Cancer
Oleocanthal kills cancer cells with their own enzymes
Thursday, February 12, 2015
By Ken Branson

A Rutgers nutritional scientist and two cancer biologists at New York City’s Hunter College have found that an ingredient in extra-virgin olive oil kills a variety of human cancer cells without harming healthy cells.

The ingredient is oleocanthal, a compound that ruptures a part of the cancerous cell, releasing enzymes that cause cell death.

Paul Breslin, professor of nutritional sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and David Foster and Onica LeGendre of Hunter College, report that oleocanthal kills cancerous cells in the laboratory by rupturing vesicles that store the cell’s waste. LeGendre, the first author, Foster, the senior author, and Breslin have published their findings in Molecular and Cellular Oncology.

According to the World Health Organization’s World Cancer Report 2014, there were more than 14 million new cases of cancer in 2012 and more than 8 million deaths.

Scientists knew that oleocanthal killed some cancer cells, but no one really understood how this occurred. Breslin believed that oleocanthal might be targeting a key protein in cancer cells that triggers a programmed cell death, known as apoptosis, and worked with Foster and Legendre to test his hypothesis after meeting David Foster at a seminar he gave at Rutgers.

“We needed to determine if oleocanthal was targeting that protein and causing the cells to die,” Breslin said. 

After applying oleocanthal to the cancer cells, Foster and LeGendre discovered that the cancer cells were dying very quickly – within 30 minutes to an hour. Since programmed cell death takes between 16 and 24 hours, the scientists realized that something else had to be causing the cancer cells to break down and die.

LeGendre, a chemist, provided the answer: The cancer cells were being killed by their own enzymes. The oleocanthal was puncturing the vesicles inside the cancer cells that store the cell’s waste – the cell’s “dumpster,” as Breslin called it, or “recycling center,” as Foster refers to it. These vesicles, known as lysosomes are larger in cancer cells than in healthy cells, and they contain a lot of waste. “Once you open one of those things, all hell breaks loose,” Breslin said.

But oleocanthal didn’t harm healthy cells, the researchers found. It merely stopped their life cycles temporarily – “put them to sleep,” Breslin said. After a day, the healthy cells resumed their cycles. 

The researchers say the logical next step is to go beyond laboratory conditions and show that oleocanthal can kill cancer cells and shrink tumors in living animals. “We also need to understand why it is that cancerous cells are more sensitive to oleocanthal than non-cancerous cells,” Foster said.