Oleocanthal, a key component in olive oil, acts like ibuprofen, without harming the body

Do you wonder why you get that peppery sensation at the back of the throat when you sip neat olive oil? The pungency and irritation may even make you cough, but these are positive signs of good quality olive oil. If the oil is fresh and made with early harvest olives, it will contain a compound called oleocanthal. If it stings a lot, it contains a high percentage of oleocanthal, recognized today as a naturally synthetized anti-inflammatory. The more peppery, the better the oil!

Some olive oils are even rated as zero-cough, one-cough or two-cough. But you don't feel the sensation until it is deep in your throat. It's not like hot peppers, which burn everywhere.

Gary Beauchamp

A compound discovered by chance

It shows that the extra virgin olive oil is fresh, made with early harvest olives and contains a high percentage of a compound called oleocanthal.  This naturally synthesized anti-inflammatory was discovered by chance in 1999 by the researcher Dr. Gary Beauchamp in Sicily when he attended a symposium on newly pressed olive oil. 

As he cradled the cup and sipped the samples, he noticed a throat stinging sensation similar to liquid ibuprofen, a project he was working on at the time, and was intrigued. Subsequent analysis identified oleocanthal as the cause of the stinging sensation, and the compound that proved to be an anti-inflammatory. Research showed for example that oleocanthal, like ibuprofen, inhibits the production of the two enzymes that cause arthritis.

 Discovering the phenolic compound had such a significant impact amongst researchers and health professionals that they organised The International Oleocanthal Society, experts who meet to share research studies and to promote and raise awareness of oleocanthal.

Oleocanthal and Arthritis

Arthritis is quite simply an inflammation of the joints caused by two inflammatory enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2. If the inflammation of these two enzymes continues unchecked, it causes damage to the cartilage and, eventually, the bones themselves. And once the deformity sets in, it cannot be reversed.

Doctors recommend anti-inflammatory drugs in particular Ibuprofen to reduce the pain and swelling from rheumatoid arthritis.

What’s great is that scientists have discovered that oleocanthal, like Ibuprofen, inhibits the production of the two enzymes that cause arthritis. It does so without causing harm to the body, unlike Ibuprofen, which can  irritate the esophagus.

So next time you're sipping extra virgin olive oil, look out for bitterness, it's loaded with  oleocanthal, the natural component, a gift from Mother Nature preserved in high quality extra virgin olive oils.

Alice Alech

Co-author of “The 7 Wonders of Olive Oil”