Posted on 07/23/2024 6:27:56 AM PDT by Red Badger
Findings from a new mouse study indicate that elenolic acid, a natural compound found in olives, can significantly lower blood sugar levels and promote weight loss. This research suggests the potential for developing safe, inexpensive natural products for managing obesity and type 2 diabetes. Obese diabetic mice treated with elenolic acid showed improved blood sugar regulation and weight loss comparable to, or better than, current diabetic medications. The study highlights the compound’s ability to induce metabolic hormone release in the gut, promoting satiety and reducing food intake. Researchers are now investigating the compound’s absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion to ensure its safety for future clinical trials.
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Mice treated with the natural compound experienced weight loss and enhanced blood sugar regulation. New research from a mouse study indicates that elenolic acid, a compound naturally occurring in olives, may reduce blood sugar levels and promote weight loss. This study could lead to the creation of affordable and safe natural products designed to help manage obesity and type 2 diabetes in humans.
The researchers found that after just one week, obese mice with diabetes that were given oral elenolic acid weighed significantly less and showed better blood sugar (glucose) regulation than before treatment and compared to control obese mice not receiving elenolic acid. The glucose-lowering effect was comparable with that of the injectable diabetic medication liraglutide and better than metformin, one of the most common oral medicines for type 2 diabetes.
“Lifestyle modifications and public health measures have had limited impact on the rising prevalence of obesity, one of the top risk factors for type 2 diabetes,” said research team leader Dongmin Liu, PhD, a professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise at Virginia Tech. “Available obesity drugs are ineffective in weight loss maintenance, expensive, and/or carry potential long-term safety risks. Our goal was to develop safer, cheaper, and more convenient multi-targeting agents that can prevent the occurrence of metabolic disorders and type 2 diabetes.”
Hana Alkhalidy, PhD, a research scientist in Liu’s lab at Virginia Tech, presented the findings at NUTRITION 2024, the flagship annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held June 29–July 2 in Chicago.
Focus on Bioactive Compounds
Liu’s research team focuses on discovering bioactive compounds from natural products for diabetes management. Previously, they looked for specific molecular targets for natural compounds in parts of the body that actively help regulate metabolism, such as the pancreas, muscle, fat tissues, and liver. However, since natural products typically have poor bioavailability, they decided to see if they could instead target metabolic hormone secretion in the gut to indirectly regulate metabolic function.
For the new work, the researchers began by identifying natural compounds that act on L-cells, which contain two metabolic hormones released during a meal. These hormones, called GLP-1 and PYY, work together to promote satiety and prevent overeating while also controlling blood sugar levels and metabolism. The screening process revealed that elenolic acid, which is found in mature olives and extra virgin olive oil, can induce the release of these hormones in the gut. They were able to make elenolic acid by breaking down its precursor oleuropein, which is less expensive than extracting it directly from olives.
Promising Results in Mice
Tests of the compound in obese mice with diabetes revealed that mice that received oral elenolic acid experienced significant improvements in their metabolic health compared to obese control mice. After four to five weeks of treatment, the mice showed a 10.7% reduction in obesity as well as blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity that were comparable to those of healthy lean mice.
The elenolic acid also significantly reduced food intake and promoted weight loss, which are associated with improved circulating levels of PYY and GLP-1 and the downregulation of agouti-related peptide in the hypothalamus. Agouti-related peptide is known to increase eating and weight gain when overexpressed.
“Overall, the study showed that elenolic acid from olives has promising effects on hormone release and metabolic health, particularly in obese and diabetic conditions,” said Liu. “The compound seems to mimic the physiological conditions of eating to directly promote gut metabolic hormone secretion, which helps regulate energy balance and metabolic health.”
According to the researchers, the concentration of elenolic acid in olive oil or olives is very low, so the benefits seen in this study would most likely not be gained from olive products alone.
The research team is now working to understand how this compound creates metabolic benefits by analyzing its journey through the body to find out how it is absorbed, distributed, metabolized, and excreted. This will also reveal insights into its safety for future clinical trials.
Reference:
“Identification of a Novel Multi-target Bioactive Compound With Anti-obesity and Anti-diabetic Activities” by Hana Alkhalid, Yao Wang, Elizabeth Gilbert and Dongmin Liu, 29 June 2024, NUTRITION 2024.
I’ve studied this subject casually for years.
Basically olives, green tea and grapes are some of the healthiest foods.
I'll have to restrict bread and mayo a bit more.
Olive oil also good for cognitivity/brain function. So, I’ve read.
Sounds like the DEI diet: Get rid of the whites!
Works well. I went Keto around 2018ish. I had been a very fat baby, was the fattest kid in class in the 60s, did a long string of Yo-Yo diets dropping 30-50 pounds then slowly gaining it back from when I was 15 on.
Keto got it off and has kept it off. There is a layer of fat on my waist that is slowly going away. Can’t see my abs but maybe by next year. The good news is that I won’t need to have any excess skin removed due to how long it has taken.
Keto was one of my first strong indicators that the government was pushing bad medical advice. By the time COVID hit, I knew the medical establishment had a ton of frauds!
I actually like that strong taste. I like butter as well..................
I can see my feet now....................🙄
I’ve taken one to two TABLESPOONS of olive oil a day for quite some time. I do notice my skin seems to look better than most others my age. I can’t really attest to losing weight on olive oil; but I have lost 15 lbs. I assumed the weight loss was attributed to the berberine supplementation over the last 3 months for my high blood sugar levels.
“obese mice with diabetes”
Something so wrong here.
I think it also has to do with the fact that the Med diet is all fresh foods.
The less processed food you eat, the better.
We started buying local chicken eggs a few years ago. Instead of buying them at the grocery store. They are plentiful around here in southern NH. That is because so many people have backyard chicken coops. There is literally one lady who gives them away for free weekly. She gets too many for her family to consume.
My wife also started buying most of our meat and fish from a company out of MA called Walden. They deliver to our house weekly meat and fish in a package for the two of us. It is always local grass fed beef, free range chicken or wild caught fish.
I searched for "Elenolic acid" and found three companies making supplements, all using OLIVE LEAF extract. I didn't find any supplements extracting Elenolic acid from olives.
Naturitas Elenolic acid
30 vegetable capsules of 530mg. Sold Out. It's a British company.
Verdepuro Vita Olive Leaf Liquid Extract
MyVitaly products are imported by Best From Italy LLC
Olive Leaf Extract Capsules by The Naked Pharmacy
Apparently these are the pharmacists Kevin, Emma, and Dimple. 
I wouldn’t mind seeing Emma and ‘Dimple’ naked................
Just visit their store ;>)
Linky no worky.....................
I seem to be immune to this effect.
Quickie research suggests that this compound is an indicator for olive maturity... more of it as the olive ripens. Ergo: black olives would be better than greenies.
I’ve noted for a long time that there’s been studies around olives & olive oil. There’s a Mediterranean town where having a heart attack almost never happens. Olives are staple of the diet.
I use olive oil for a lot of cooking.
Green olives, or black (ripe) olives?
Oils.....................
I’ve never understood the reason for putting an olive in a perfectly fine drink...................
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