Background: olive pomace oil (OPO) is a nutritionally relevant fat due to its high oleic acid content (C18:1) and the presence of a wide range of minor bioactive components. Although numerous in vitro and preclinical studies have been developed to study some of its characteristic components, the health effect of prolonged OPO consumption is unknown.
Methods: a randomised, blinded, cross-over, controlled clinical trial was carried out in 31 normocholesterolemic and 37 hypercholesterolemic subjects. Participants consumed 45 g/day of OPO or sunflower oil (SO) for 4 weeks, each preceded by a 3-week run-in/wash-out phase with corn oil (CO).
Results: regular consumption of OPO and SO had no statistically significant effect on any of the markers related to lipid profile, blood pressure, and endothelial function in both groups, except for eNOS levels, which were close to statistical significance due to the effect of oil (OPO and SO) (p = 0.083). A decrease in visceral fat (p = 0.028) in both groups was observed after OPO intake, accompanied by an increment of leptin (p = 0.017) in the hypercholesterolemic group.
Conclusion: reducing visceral fat after prolonged OPO intake might contribute to improve cardiometabolic status, with a potentially positive effect on the vascular tone. Further clinical trials are needed to confirm the present results.
Keywords: cardiovascular health; clinical trial; endothelial function; olive pomace oil; sunflower oil; visceral fat.