Oleocanthal – An Unexpected Discovery

Dr. Gary Beauchamp is making the rounds these days speaking about his discovery of the oleocanthal molecule that he found in olive oil a short ten years ago. The discovery, like many great discoveries, was an accident. As a sensory chemist he was searching for a way to improve the taste of ibuprofen when he experienced an olive oil tasting. To his surprise he tasted something in the olive oil that had similarities to the taste of ibuprofen. Further research revealed he had discovered the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory molecule, oleocanthal. Wonderfully, this molecule in olive oil does not have the side effects of ibuprofen. Beauchamp found that oleocanthal can help remove proteins that are the main component of amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer patients. This story reveals that we are still in the early stages of discovering all the great benefits of olive oil that, intuitively, the Mediterranean has known about for thousands of years.

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