Abstract: Phenolic compounds present in olive and extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) are assumed to contribute to the health benefits associated with the consumption of EVOO. Tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol are among the major phenolic components of olive and EVOO. They are present in their free form as well as in the esterified forms, mainly as secoiridoid derivatives (ligstroside and oleuropein, respectively) [1]. Recently, hydroxytyrosyl oleate (HtyOle), a lipophilic derivative of hydroxytyrosol, has been identified in olive oil and by-products [2,3]. Furthermore, HtyOle displayed anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and tissue regenerating properties in in vitro cell models [3,4]. This compound is a member of lipophenols, an emerging subclass of phenolic compounds characterized by the presence of a lipid moiety. Due to their lipophilicity, they show higher adsorption and bioavailability than polar phenolic compounds [5,6]. In this lecture, the most up-to-date research studies in the area of olive lipophenols will be discussed.

References:
[1] Visioli, F.; Davalos, A.; López de Las Hazas, M.C.; Crespo, M.C.; Tomé-Carneiro, J. An overview of the pharmacology of olive oil and its active ingredients. Br. J. Pharmacol., 2020, 177, 1316-1330.
[2] Lee, Y.Y.; Crauste, C.; Wang, H.; Leung, H.H.; Vercauteren, J.; Galano, J.-M.; Oger, C.; Durand, T.; Wan, J.M.-F.; Lee, J.C.-Y. Extra Virgin Olive Oil Reduced Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid and Cholesterol Oxidation in Rodent Liver: Is This Accounted for Hydroxytyrosol-Fatty Acid Conjugation? Chem. Res. Toxicol., 2016, 29, 1689-1698.
[3] Plastina, P.; Benincasa, C.; Perri, E.; Fazio, A.; Augimeri, G.; Poland, M.; Witkamp, R.; Meijerink, J. Identification of hydroxytyrosyl oleate, a derivative of hydroxytyrosol with anti-inflammatory properties, in olive oil by-products. Food Chem. 2019, 279, 105-113.
[4] Benincasa, C.; La Torre, C.; Plastina, P.; Fazio, A.; Perri, E.; Caroleo, M.C.; Gallelli, L.; Cannataro, R.; Cione, E. Hydroxytyrosyl Oleate: Improved Extraction Procedure from Olive Oil and By-Products, and In Vitro Antioxidant and Skin Regenerative Properties. Antioxidants 2019, 8, 233.
[5] Bayrasy, C.; Chabi, B.; Laguerre, M.; Lecomte, J.; Jublanc, E.; Villeneuve, P.; Wrutniak-Cabello, C.; Cabello, G. Boosting antioxidants by lipophilization: A strategy to increase cell uptake and target mitochondria. Pharm. Res., 2013, 30, 1979-1989.
[6] Yin, F.; Hu, X.; Zhou, D.; Ma, X.; Tian, X.; Huo, X.; Rakariyatham, K.; Shahidi, F.; Zhu, B. Hydrolysis and Transport Characteristics of Tyrosol Acyl Esters in Rat Intestine. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2018, 66, 12521‐12526.

Biography: Pierluigi Plastina obtained his degree in Chemistry in 2002 and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 2005 from University of Calabria (Rende, Italy). He was research fellow at the Department of Chemistry of the same University in 2006-2007 working on the development of new methods for the quantitative analysis of bioactive compounds in food matrices by means mass spectrometric techniques. He was post-doctoral fellow at the Division of Human Nutrition of the Wageningen University (Wageningen, The Netherlands) in 2007-2008 working under the supervision of Professor Renger Witkamp on n-3 fatty acid ethanolamides with anti-inflammatory properties. Then he moved back to University of Calabria as a research fellow working on the extraction, identification and pharmacological characterization of bioactive compounds from food matrices. He was visiting scientist at the Wageningen University in 2012 and again in 2013. He is currently permanent senior researcher and adjunct professor of Food Chemistry at the Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutrition Sciences of the University of Calabria. His main research interests are devoted to the investigation of bioactive lipids with potential anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer and antidiabetic properties and their identification in food matrices and waste materials.