What Are Olive Oil Polyphenols? A Simple Guide to High Phenolic Olive Oil

What are polyphenols?

Polyphenols are a large family of natural compounds made by plants. You find them in many everyday foods, such as tea, coffee, cocoa, red wine, berries and, of course, olives. For the plant, they work as a protection system against sun, heat, drought, insects and disease.

In olive oil, polyphenols are often called phenolic compounds or simply phenols. That is where the term “high phenolic olive oil” comes from.

The main polyphenols in olive oil

Olive oil contains more than thirty different phenolic compounds. The best known are:

• Hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol: simple phenols that are the basis of the official EU health claim for olive oil.
• Oleocanthal: the compound responsible for the peppery sting at the back of your throat. Read our guide: What is oleocanthal?
• Oleacein: a close relative of oleocanthal, responsible for much of the bitterness of fresh olive oil.
• Oleuropein and ligstroside aglycones: compounds that come from the bitter substances of the olive fruit itself.
• Lignans and flavonoids: present in smaller amounts, they complete the phenolic profile of the oil.

Polyphenols and health: what the EU allows us to say

Research on olive oil polyphenols is extensive and ongoing, but in the European Union only one health claim is officially approved: olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection of blood lipids from oxidative stress.

This claim may only be used for olive oils that contain at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (such as oleuropein complex and tyrosol) per 20 g of olive oil, which equals 250 mg/kg. The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 20 g of olive oil, about two tablespoons. Many olive oils on the market do not reach this level, which is why a lab analysis is so important.

CURE Sparta Mountains wild olive oil contains 1,200 – 4,000 mg/kg of total polyphenols, confirmed by the University of Athens and the University of Crete. Contact us for samples and the full analyses.