An International Society for Oleocanthal
14/07/2015

On 30-31 May  on the island of Zakynthos in Greece a group of international olive oil experts from the world of science, academia, gastronomy and media gathered for a conference to establish the non-profit Oleocanthal International Society (OIS).

 

 

 

 

 

OIS is the brainchild of retired physician Jose Antonio Amerigo from Spain who has dedicated his time to promoting preventative medicine through nutrition as the best way to “cure” disease.

“My initial motivation was to promote the health benefits derived from Picual and Cornicabra, the two main varietals of olive trees found in the Jaén and La Mancha areas. They are both very rich in health-promoting phenolic compounds such as oleocanthal,” Amerigo said.

“Last year I created the Oleocanthal Society of Andalusia for this purpose and invited Gary Beauchamp to our inaugural event where we met for the first time,” Amerigo continued. “OIS, however, is a distinct and separate international multidisciplinary society with members with diverse interests in the field of research, gastronomy, and media. Our goal is to expand interdisciplinary collaboration and information exchange in the field of olive research. It is vital that we encourage the proper use of high phenolic olive products in our daily diet. OIS mission is to encourage scientific research and disseminate the results to the scientific community while making the health promoting aspects accessible to the general public, via a website, press releases, special events, videos and podcasts.”

Founding members of OIS are from Spain, Greece, and the United States. Experts from Italy, Australia, France, Tunisia, Croatia, and Portugal have expressed interest in joining, and it is expected the OIS will expand rapidly to include representatives from those countries and others.

Prokopios Magiatis and Eleni Melliou were invited to become members due to their extensive background in olive oil research and their discovery of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), method of accurately measuring individual phenolic compounds. I asked Magiatis why Zakynthos was chosen for this event: “We decided to conduct our first meeting to establish OIS in Zakynthos Island situated in the Ionian Sea in Greece as an acknowledgement of the vibrant history of the olive tree and its cultural significance to the ancient Hellenic culture and Mediterranean civilizations. We also discovered some very high phenolic olive oils here in the Ionian islands of Zakynthos and Corfu. We are very happy to collaborate with such a diverse group of scientists and experts to further our research and enhance our ability to communicate our findings to the public.”

Paul Breslin recently made headlines with his success in using oleocanthal to kill cancer cells in a Petri dish. He flew in from Boston to participate because he sees OIS as a very positive development. “I hope the OIS will succeed in accessing more funds that are needed to help us continue to study the specific health benefits of oleocanthal and other compounds found in EVOO. All indications are very positive for the overall health benefits of consuming olive oil. The specific contribution of each phenolic compound found in EVOO in preventing or even healing disease requires a great deal more research. At present, we have discovered that oleocanthal has anti-inflammatory properties, interferes with amyloid forming Alzheimer’s plaques and can kill certain cancerous cells in a petri dish without harming healthy cells. Beyond the headlines and the enthusiasm this research has generated we need to conduct animal studies and eventually human trials. This requires research funds that we do not have right now. This is why I have decided to be a part of OIS.” Breslin is a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, Rutgers University and a member of the Monell Chemical Senses Center. More