Olive Oil May Reduce the Risk of Hypertension

Diets combining nitrite-filled vegetables (eg, celery and lettuce) and unsaturated fats (eg, olive oil, avocados, and nuts) may reduce a person’s risk of hypertension.

When the 2 food groups are consumed in tandem (referred to as a Mediterranean diet), the reaction of nitrogen compounds and unsaturated fatty acids yield nitro fatty acids.

This study used mice to track the presence of soluble expoxide hydrolase (sEH), an enzyme known to regulate blood pressure.
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In the first group, researchers fed nitro fatty acids found in the Mediterranean diet to mice who were genetically engineered to resist the conversion of nitro fatty acids to sEH. These mice maintained their high blood pressure throughout the study.

In the second group, researchers fed normal mice the same Mediterranean diet and noted a lowering of blood pressure over the course of the study.

As a result, investigators concluded that the positive effects of the Mediterranean diet can in part be attributed to the ability of nitro fatty acids to inhibit sEH to lower blood pressure.

“The findings of our study help to explain why previous research has shown that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular problems like stroke, heart failure, and heart attacks,” said Philip Eaton, BSc, PhD, researcher and professor of Cardiovascular Biochemistry at King’s College London.

The complete study is published in the May issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Reference:

Charles RL, Rudyk O, Prysyazhna O, et al. Protection from hypertension in mice by the Mediterranean diet is mediated by nitro fatty acid inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase. PNAS. 2014 May 19 [epub ahead of print] doi: 10.1073/pnas.1402965111

King’s College London. Why you need olive oil on your salad [press release]. 2014 May 20. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/newsevents/news/newsrecords/2014/May/Why-you-need-olive-oil-on-your-salad.aspx. Accessed May 23, 2014.