Hydroxytyrosol supplementation increases vitamin C levels in vivo. A human volunteer trial

Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is a main phenolic component of olive oil. In this study, we investigated the safety and effects produced by HT purified (99.5%) from olive mill waste. HT was administered at a daily dosage of 45 mg for 8 weeks to volunteers with mild hyperlipidemia (n=14). We measured markers of cardiovascular disease risk, enzyme markers of several clinical conditions, hematology, antioxidant parameters, vitamins and minerals at baseline (T0), 4 weeks (T4) and 8 weeks (T8). The values obtained at T4 and T8 were compared with baseline. We found that the HT dose administered was safe and mostly did not influence markers of cardiovascular disease, blood lipids, inflammatory markers, liver or kidney functions and the electrolyte balance. Serum iron levels remained constant but a significant (P
The authors wish to thank Puleva Biotech SA and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (formerly Ministry of Science and Innovation) [the ERDF-cofinanced grant AGL2011-24428], for funding. The authors wish to thank Maria González-Santiago, Carlos Rodríguez and Antonio D. Valero for their valuable technical assistance, Dr Luis Perez for the purification of the HT used in the study, Alberto Zafra for his help with the HPLC and GC-MS analytical procedures, Dr Arjan Geerlings for fruitful discussions and Ruth Wilson for revising the manuscript.