THE OIL IS HEALTHY FOR THE EYESIGHT
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  • THE OIL IS HEALTHY FOR THE EYESIGHT

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A project developed at the Agroalimentary Technological Institute of Extremadura addresses the creation of a nutraceutical based on Extra Virgin Olive Oil enriched with bioactive compounds of spinach (lutein and zeaxanthin) that could prevent eye diseases such as macular degeneration.

The research was conducted under the direction of Jonathan Delgado Adámez, responsible for research support laboratories; Daniel Martín Vertedor, belonging to the Vegetable Area; and María Victoria Gil Álvarez, lecturer in the Department of Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, University of Extremadura. And it is based on the doctoral thesis “Development of a nutraceutical of Extra Virgin Olive Oil enriched in lutein and zeaxanthin, validation in vitro and in vivo of its bioactive properties”, presented at the University of Extremadura by the researcher María Benito de Valle Prieto and whose experimentation took place in the facilities of the Agroalimentary Technological Institute of Extremadura, a center attached to the Center for Scientific and Technological Research of Extremadura.

For the development of the product, the variables of temperature and time of extraction of lutein and zeaxanthin in the Extra Virgin Olive Oil were optimized, as well as the process and the spinach/oil proportions with which more of these compounds are extracted.

Likewise, the pertinent studies were carried out to validate its business viability, such as the estimation of the useful life of the oil, evaluating the color, the oxidative stability and the sensory analysis; and the functionality through in vitro models of the oil enriched in the xanthophylls, evaluating for this the antioxidant activity of the same. The bioavailability of the active compounds of the enriched oil was also assessed by an in vitro digestion model, in relation to a therapeutically used drug. Finally, the potential of the oil enriched in xanthophylls as nutraceutical was verified through markers, total antioxidant activity in urine and concentration of lutein and zeaxanthin in blood serum.

The studies conducted provided the necessary indications for the potential therapeutic use of this nutraceutical in the prevention of macular degeneration since, based on recent literature, it has been shown that the content of lutein and zeaxanthin is concentrated in the macula. Therefore, it can be susceptible to prescription in substitution of supplements or synthetic drugs rich in these carotenoids that are currently prescribed in order to alleviate these ocular pathologies.

SOURCE: University of Extremadura.

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