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
Photo : Founders of the Oleocanthal
International Society (left to right) Giorgis Sigouros, (sponsor) Spyros
Dafnis,(sponsor) Maureen O'Leary,
Gary Beauchamp, Feliciano Priego Capote, Danny Garcia Peinado, Dimitris
Therianos,(sponsor) Dr. Manuel Brenes Balbuena, Maria Dolores Luque de
Castro, Li Li Ji, Clara Isabel Vilanueva Garcia, Dr. Jose Antonio
Amerigo, Paul Breslin, Prokopios Magiatis, Eleni Melliou