American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 67, 129-135, Copyright © 1998 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc

ORIGINAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS

Effect of olive oil on immune function in middle-aged men

P Yaqoob, JA Knapper, DH Webb, CM Williams, EA Newsholme and PC Calder
Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. pyaqoob@soton.ac.uk

Consumption of diets rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) has been linked with a low prevalence of atherosclerosis and there has been great interest in the effects of MUFAs on lipoprotein metabolism. Less attention has been paid to the effects of MUFAs on the immune system, yet cells of the immune system are an inherent part of the inflammatory events involved in atherosclerosis and several animal studies showed that olive oil has some potent immunomodulatory actions. We therefore considered it important to investigate the effects of chronic consumption of MUFAs on several immune cell functions in healthy humans. Healthy middle-aged males entered a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial in which they consumed either a MUFA diet or a control diet for 2 mo. There was a significant decrease in the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from subjects consuming the MUFA diet. Consumption of the MUFA diet did not affect natural killer cell activity or proliferation of mitogen- stimulated leukocytes. The effects of a MUFA-rich diet on adhesion molecule expression may have implications for the influence of dietary fat on inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis.

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