Oleocanthal in Olive Oil: Benefits, Mechanism, and How to Find the Highest Concentration

Oleocanthal

Oleocanthal is a phenolic compound in extra virgin olive oil that inhibits COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes through the same pathway as ibuprofen (Beauchamp et al., Nature, 2005). It does not exist in the olive fruit itself. It is formed during malaxation through a two-step enzymatic process, and the conditions of that process determine how much of it ends up in the final oil. Concentrations in commercial extra virgin olive oils range from undetectable to roughly 700 mg/kg. Our 2025 to 2026 harvest tested at 1,248 mg/kg of oleocanthal by LC-MS/MS at the Universidad de Córdoba, verified by the IOC-accredited laboratory of F. Priego-Capote.

TL;DR

• Oleocanthal is the compound responsible for the peppery, ibuprofen-like throat sting in fresh high-quality EVOO.

  
  

• It inhibits COX-1 and COX-2 with potency comparable to ibuprofen on an equimolar basis (Beauchamp et al., 2005).

  
  

• It is not present in the olive fruit. It is biosynthesised during crushing and malaxation by the sequential action of β-glucosidase and methylesterase enzymes on ligstroside (Volk et al., 2019; Diamantakos et al., 2020).

  
  

• Beyond COX inhibition, peer-reviewed research documents effects on NF-κB and MAPK pathways, the HGF/c-Met cancer pathway, blood-brain barrier amyloid clearance, platelet aggregation, and inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and MIP-1α.

  
  

• Total polyphenol content and oleocanthal content are not the same thing. A bottle at 2,000 mg/kg total polyphenols can contain 50 mg/kg or 1,200 mg/kg of oleocanthal depending on the producer's malaxation regime.

  
  

• The 2025 to 2026 Oleaphen harvest delivers 1,248 mg/kg of oleocanthal in nitrogen-flushed 5 ml monodoses, verified by LC-MS/MS at the IOC-accredited Universidad de Córdoba laboratory.

What oleocanthal actually is

Oleocanthal is a secoiridoid phenolic compound with the chemical name 2-(p-hydroxyphenyl)ethyl ester of (3S)-4-formyl-3-(2-oxoethyl)hex-4-enoic acid. It was first characterised by Montedoro and colleagues in 1993, but did not draw serious pharmacological attention until 2005, when Gary Beauchamp's group at the Monell Chemical Senses Center noticed that newly pressed olive oil produced the same peppery throat sting as liquid ibuprofen. That observation, published in Nature, was the start of a 20-year research arc that now includes thousands of citations across inflammation, neurodegeneration, and oncology literature.

The name itself records the discovery story: oleo for olive, canth for sting, al for the aldehyde group in its molecular structure.

Two facts about oleocanthal matter for everything that follows:

1. It is not in the olive fruit. Most people assume olive oil polyphenols come from the olive. For hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol that is broadly true. For oleocanthal it is not. Oleocanthal and its sister compound oleacein are not present in Olea europaea leaves or fruit. They are biosynthesised during oil production from a precursor called ligstroside, through the sequential action of two enzyme classes that are released only when the olive cells are physically disrupted during crushing.

2. Its concentration is determined more by processing than by the olive variety. The variety sets the ceiling. Malaxation chemistry decides whether you hit it.

How oleocanthal is formed (and why most high-phenolic oils are low in it)

This section is technical but it is also the entire reason this article exists. If you understand it you will never again be fooled by a high total-polyphenol number on a bottle.

The biosynthetic pathway

The precursor compound, ligstroside, sits in the vacuoles of the olive cell. The enzyme that converts it, β-glucosidase, sits in a separate cellular compartment. As long as the fruit is intact, the two never meet. The moment the olive is crushed, cells rupture and the enzyme makes contact with the substrate.

The conversion happens in two steps:

1. β-glucosidase hydrolyses the glycosidic bond on ligstroside, removing the glucose unit and producing an intermediate aglycone called oleokoronal.

2. A methylesterase enzyme (Volk and colleagues identified two of them, OeEAME1 and OeEAME2, in a 2019 paper) then removes the methyl ester group, yielding oleocanthal (p-HPEA-EDA).

   
   

The same two-step sequence applied to oleuropein, the other major precursor, produces oleacein, the closely related compound responsible for the bitterness of fresh olive oil.

This sequence happens during malaxation: the slow mechanical mixing of crushed olive paste that allows oil droplets to coalesce before centrifugation. It is the most important and least understood step in olive oil production. Temperature, time, oxygen exposure, and the enzymatic profile of the specific olive cultivar all interact.

Why "high polyphenol" does not equal "high oleocanthal"

This is the differentiator that most consumers, and even many producers, miss.

If you push malaxation conditions to maximise total polyphenols, you can end up with an oil dominated by oleuropein aglycone: the intermediate that should have been converted to oleacein but never made it past step one. The oil tests very high for total polyphenols by HPLC, often above 1,500 mg/kg. The bitter and pungent intensity is real. But the oleocanthal fraction sits well below 200 mg/kg because the methylesterase step was incomplete.

You see this constantly when independent labs publish full secoiridoid breakdowns rather than total numbers. A 2020 paper by Diamantakos and colleagues in Antioxidants mapped the full transformation across cultivars and malaxation times and found a striking result: in some Greek varieties (Throubolia Aegean from the island of Naxos in their dataset) the conversion to oleocanthal essentially did not happen at all, even after 60 minutes of malaxation. The fruit lacked the active methylesterase. In other cultivars (Olympia, certain Coratina selections) the conversion required more than 90 minutes to complete. The variation between cultivars and producers is enormous.

The implication for buyers is direct. A certificate of analysis that reports only "total polyphenols (mg/kg)" tells you nothing about oleocanthal specifically. You need the individual compound breakdown, by LC-MS/MS, with oleocanthal listed as its own line item.

Why this is what we work on at Oleaphen

I have spent thirteen harvests on the agronomy and processing chemistry of high-oleocanthal olive oil. The combination of olive maturity at harvest, malaxation temperature, malaxation time, oxygen restriction during mixing, and post-extraction handling is what determines whether the oil tests at 200 mg/kg oleocanthal or 1,200 mg/kg oleocanthal. The total polyphenol number follows from this. The reverse is not reliable.

Our most recent harvest tested at 1,248 mg/kg oleocanthal, measured by LC-MS/MS at the IOC-accredited Universidad de Córdoba laboratory under the ARISTOIL Interreg Mediterranean project (analyst: F. Priego-Capote).

Total polyphenols on the same lot tested at 2,236 mg/kg. The oleocanthal fraction is therefore 55% of the total phenolic content. Most "high-phenolic" oils on the market sit between 10% and 25%.

What oleocanthal does in the body

The pharmacology has expanded dramatically since the 2005 Beauchamp paper. Below is what the peer-reviewed evidence supports, grouped by mechanism. None of these are product claims. They are findings from published research, summarised here as background to a food.

1. COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition (anti-inflammatory pathway)

This is the original finding and still the most replicated. Beauchamp and colleagues reported IC₅₀ values of around 23 µM for COX-1 and 28 µM for COX-2, comparable to ibuprofen in the same assay. The compound interferes with the cyclooxygenase pathway that converts arachidonic acid into prostaglandins, the lipid mediators responsible for pain, swelling and inflammatory cascade signalling. Subsequent work (Iacono et al., 2010; Scotece et al., 2018) confirmed dose-dependent COX inhibition in chondrocyte cell lines, with oleocanthal reaching greater enzymatic inhibition than ibuprofen at matched concentrations.

2. NF-κB and MAPK pathway suppression

The 2018 paper by Scotece and colleagues in Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry showed that in human primary osteoarthritis chondrocytes activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), oleocanthal reduces the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and p38 MAP kinases, increases the cytoplasmic retention of IκB, and prevents the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65. The downstream effect is reduced expression of IL-6, IL-8, COX-2, NOS-2, MIP-1α, TNF-α, LCN2, MMP-13 and ADAMTS-5.

This is the mechanistic basis for the interest in oleocanthal as a potential adjunct in rheumatic disease research.

3. Anti-platelet activity in healthy humans

A 2017 randomised trial by Agrawal and colleagues, published in the Journal of Functional Foods, dosed healthy adult men with oleocanthal-rich EVOO and measured platelet aggregation responses. Oleocanthal acutely modulated platelet aggregation in a manner consistent with COX-mediated thromboxane suppression. This is the same biological pathway through which low-dose aspirin reduces cardiovascular event risk. It is also the only properly randomised, controlled, human dataset to date on the acute pharmacology of oleocanthal-rich olive oil.

4. Amyloid-β clearance across the blood-brain barrier

Two papers from Amal Kaddoumi's group at the University of Louisiana, published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience in 2013 and 2015, reported that oleocanthal upregulates the efflux transporters P-glycoprotein and LRP1 at the blood-brain barrier and enhances the clearance of amyloid-β peptides from the brain.

The 2015 follow-up extended the finding to a transgenic Alzheimer's mouse model (TgSwDI) and reported reduced amyloid burden after four weeks of oleocanthal treatment. This is preclinical work. It does not establish a treatment effect in humans. It does establish a mechanistic plausibility that has driven significant follow-up research.

5. HGF/c-Met pathway inhibition in cancer cell lines

The HGF/c-Met signalling pathway is reactivated in many cancers during invasive growth and metastasis. A 2011 paper by Elnagar and colleagues in Planta Medica was the first to show that oleocanthal suppresses c-Met phosphorylation in breast and prostate cancer cell lines, with downstream inhibition of cell migration, invasion and proliferation.

A 2014 paper by Akl and colleagues in PLoS ONE documented the effect across multiple breast cancer models. A 2015 paper by LeGendre, Breslin and Foster in Molecular and Cellular Oncology reported that oleocanthal induced cancer cell death within 30 minutes through a lysosomal membrane permeabilisation mechanism, with no equivalent effect in matched non-cancerous cells in their assay.

6. Effects in metabolic and prediabetic populations

The APRIL trial, a randomised controlled crossover study published in Clinical Nutrition in 2023 by Ruiz-García and colleagues, fed people with obesity and prediabetes either a standard EVOO or an EVOO enriched with oleocanthal and oleacein. The oleocanthal-enriched arm showed improvements in antioxidant status, reductions in lipid and organic peroxides, and reductions in interferon-γ levels. This is one of the few human dietary trials targeting the specific compound rather than total polyphenols.

7. Liver fibrosis (preclinical)

A 2021 paper by Gabbia and colleagues in Frontiers in Nutrition showed that in hepatic stellate cells (LX2 line) and hepatocytes (HepG2 line), oleocanthal reduced cell proliferation, limited extracellular matrix production, dampened pro-inflammatory gene expression and modulated microRNAs associated with liver fibrosis. The findings position oleocanthal as a candidate for further investigation in fatty liver and fibrotic liver disease research.

8. Other reported mechanisms

The González-Rodríguez et al. systematic review in Antioxidants (2023) catalogues additional effects: inhibition of STAT3 signalling in melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma; inhibition of mTOR (IC₅₀ around 708 nM); inhibition of MIP-1α in multiple myeloma; modulation of TRPC6 calcium channels in breast cancer cells; and synergistic effects with tamoxifen and lapatinib in HER2-positive breast cancer models.

None of this means a daily dose of olive oil is a cancer treatment. It means oleocanthal is one of the most pharmacologically interesting molecules to come out of food science in the last twenty years, and the case for choosing an oil that actually contains it is built on real biology.

Why "highest oleocanthal" is harder than it sounds

If you want to find a genuinely high-oleocanthal oil, there are four things to check, in this order:

1. Is there a recent independent lab analysis, and does it list oleocanthal as a separate line item?

A certificate that reports only "total polyphenols" tells you nothing about oleocanthal content. You need oleocanthal listed individually, in mg/kg, measured by LC-MS/MS, dated within the current harvest.

2. What method was used?

LC-MS/MS (liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry, following the IOC method COI/T.20/Doc. No 29) is the international reference standard. It is the method recognised by EFSA for the EU 432/2012 health claim and the method used by IOC-accredited laboratories. qNMR (quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance) is offered by one laboratory in Greece and is not recognised by the IOC or EFSA. It systematically overestimates polyphenol content. For more on testing methodology and why it matters, see our piece on how olive oil is actually tested.

3. How is the oil packaged and stored?

Oleocanthal degrades rapidly on exposure to air and light. A 2024 paper in Sustainable Food Technology documented a roughly tenfold protective effect from nitrogen flushing of olive oil packaging. A 500 ml bottle opened and resealed daily in a kitchen will lose a large fraction of its oleocanthal content within weeks of opening. The label number reflects the day of bottling. After opening, that number is no longer accurate. This is why our oil ships in nitrogen-flushed 5 ml monodoses rather than bottles, and why oleocanthal loss after opening is one of the most important and least-discussed topics in this category.

4. Cultivar and harvest timing

Early-harvest oils from Coratina, Koroneiki, certain wild Greek varieties (Adramitiani, Olympia), and a handful of others consistently produce the highest oleocanthal concentrations. Late-harvest oils and refined oils contain trace amounts or none. If a producer cannot tell you their harvest date and cultivar, the result is essentially random.

For a side-by-side comparison of brands that publish full secoiridoid data, see our complete buying guide to high-polyphenol olive oil.

How Oleaphen approaches oleocanthal specifically

The chemistry above is the entire reason this company exists.

The 2025 to 2026 harvest tests at:

• 2,236 mg/kg total polyphenols

• 1,248 mg/kg oleocanthal (the highest individual fraction we have on record)

• 11,636 mg/kg total bioactive compounds (the full secoiridoid family plus tocopherols)

• All measured by LC-MS/MS at the Universidad de Córdoba under the IOC-accredited ARISTOIL protocol

The oil ships in nitrogen-flushed 5 ml monodoses, refrigerated until dispatch, so that the analytical concentration on the certificate is what reaches your mouth rather than what was true at the moment of bottling. The packaging format exists because the chemistry leaves no other honest option.

The 2025 harvest sold out across 31 countries. The October 2026 harvest is now opening for pre-order.

Try the highest oleocanthal olive oil ever independently verified

Join the 2026 harvest waitlist →

Frequently asked questions

What does oleocanthal taste like?

It causes the peppery, slightly burning sensation at the back of the throat when you swallow a fresh, high-quality EVOO. The 2011 Journal of Neuroscience paper by Peyrot des Gachons and colleagues identified TRPA1 as the receptor responsible. The receptor is selectively expressed in a small area of the oropharynx, which is why the sting is felt in the throat rather than on the tongue. Strong throat sting almost always indicates meaningful oleocanthal content, although the exact concentration can only be verified by laboratory analysis.

Which olive oil has the highest oleocanthal content?

Independently verified oils above 700 mg/kg are rare. Above 1,000 mg/kg is exceptional. Our 2025 to 2026 harvest tested at 1,248 mg/kg of oleocanthal by LC-MS/MS at the Universidad de Córdoba, which is the highest individual oleocanthal concentration we have published. Refined olive oils, light olive oils, and most supermarket EVOOs contain trace amounts or none.

Is oleocanthal really equivalent to ibuprofen?

In COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition assays, yes, at matched concentrations. The argument for oleocanthal is chronic low-grade anti-inflammatory exposure across years of consumption, not acute pain relief.

Can oleocanthal be taken as a supplement or capsule?

Isolated oleocanthal capsules exist but the research base is built almost entirely on whole olive oil and oleocanthal-rich EVOO, not isolated extracts. Bioavailability and synergy with the rest of the secoiridoid family (oleacein, oleuropein aglycone, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol) almost certainly matter for the observed effects. Until human trials are run on isolated capsules, the evidence supports the food, not the supplement. The Beauchamp dose maths assumes you are consuming oil, not a tablet.

Does oleocanthal have side effects?

At normal dietary doses, no documented adverse effects. Olive oil holds GRAS status with the US FDA and is consumed at 30 to 50 g daily by entire Mediterranean populations without incident. The throat sting from oleocanthal is a sensory response, not a side effect, and reflects TRPA1 receptor activation rather than tissue irritation. The only meaningful caution is the same as for any food: rare individual allergies to olive components have been documented. For a fuller treatment of the safety question, see our piece on side effects of high-polyphenol olive oil.

Does cooking destroy oleocanthal?

Heat degrades it. A 2020 study by Lozano-Castellón and colleagues in Antioxidants found that pan-frying at 180°C for 10 minutes reduced oleocanthal by around 40%. For maximum anti-inflammatory activity, take high-phenolic olive oil cold, drizzled over food after cooking, or straight as a daily shot.

Why do most high-polyphenol olive oils contain little oleocanthal?

Because oleocanthal is not present in the olive fruit. It has to be formed during malaxation through a two-step enzymatic process: β-glucosidase first, then methylesterase. Many producers optimise malaxation for total polyphenol yield (which favours oleuropein aglycone retention) rather than for full conversion to oleocanthal and oleacein. The result is an oil with a high total polyphenol number but a low oleocanthal fraction. The only way to know the difference is an LC-MS/MS analysis that breaks out the individual compounds.

Is oleocanthal covered by the EFSA olive oil health claim?

The EU 432/2012 health claim is anchored specifically to hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (the oleuropein and tyrosol complex), at a threshold of 5 mg per 20 g of oil. Oleocanthal itself is not the named compound, but in practice oleocanthal correlates strongly with the hydroxytyrosol family in the same oils because they share precursors and processing pathways. Oils high in oleocanthal almost always satisfy the EFSA threshold for the named claim.

Key takeaways

• Oleocanthal inhibits COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes through the same pathway as ibuprofen (Beauchamp et al., Nature, 2005). It is the compound responsible for the peppery throat sting in fresh high-quality EVOO.

• It is not present in the olive fruit. It is biosynthesised during crushing and malaxation through a two-step enzymatic reaction on ligstroside.

• The conditions of malaxation (temperature, time, oxygen, cultivar enzymology) determine whether the final oil contains 50 mg/kg or 1,200 mg/kg of oleocanthal. Total polyphenol number does not predict oleocanthal content.

• Beyond COX inhibition, peer-reviewed research documents activity in inflammation (NF-κB, MAPK, cytokines), cardiovascular (anti-platelet), neurological (amyloid-β clearance), oncology (HGF/c-Met, STAT3, lysosomal membrane permeabilisation in cancer cells) and metabolic (APRIL trial in prediabetes).

• To find a real high-oleocanthal oil, demand an LC-MS/MS analysis that lists oleocanthal as its own line item, a recent harvest date, and packaging that excludes oxygen.

• Our 2025/26 harvest contains 1,248 mg/kg of oleocanthal in nitrogen-flushed 5 ml monodoses, verified by LC-MS/MS at the IOC-accredited Universidad de Córdoba laboratory.

Read more

For the wider context, our scientific guide to olive oil polyphenols walks through the full secoiridoid family and how the compounds relate to one another. For the foundational case, is high polyphenol olive oil worth it? summarises the consumer-level argument. The 10 science-backed benefits of high polyphenol olive oil covers the mechanisms across organ systems.

For specific topics, see our pieces on olive oil polyphenols and telomeres, olive oil polyphenols and GLP-1 metabolic health, and olive oil polyphenols, hormones and menopause.

For practical decisions, does olive oil lose polyphenols after opening? explains why our monodose format exists. How to take your daily shot covers daily-use logistics. The complete buying guide compares the major brands by published lab data.

For the regulatory question, side effects and safety of high-polyphenol olive oil covers the EFSA position. For testing methodology, why olive oil testing methods matter explains the difference between LC-MS/MS, HPLC and qNMR.

References

1. Beauchamp GK, Keast RSJ, Morel D, Lin J, Pika J, Han Q, Lee CH, Smith AB, Breslin PAS. Phytochemistry: Ibuprofen-like activity in extra-virgin olive oil. Nature. 2005;437(7055):45-46. doi:10.1038/437045a.

2. Parkinson L, Keast R. Oleocanthal, a phenolic derived from virgin olive oil: a review of the beneficial effects on inflammatory disease. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2014;15(7):12323-12334. doi:10.3390/ijms150712323.

3. González-Rodríguez M, Ait Edjoudi D, Cordero-Barreal A, Farrag M, Varela-García M, Torrijos-Pulpón C, Ruiz-Fernández C, Capuozzo M, Ottaiano A, Lago F, Pino J, Farrag Y, Gualillo O. Oleocanthal, an antioxidant phenolic compound in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO): a comprehensive systematic review of its potential in inflammation and cancer. Antioxidants. 2023;12(12):2112. doi:10.3390/antiox12122112.

4. Volk J, Sarafeddinov A, Unver T, Marx S, Tretzel J, Zotzel J, Warzecha H. Two novel methylesterases from Olea europaea contribute to the catabolism of oleoside-type secoiridoid esters. Planta. 2019;250(6):2083-2097. doi:10.1007/s00425-019-03286-0.

5. Diamantakos P, Ioannidis K, Papanikolaou C, Tsolakou A, Rigakou A, Melliou E, Magiatis P. A new definition of the term "high-phenolic olive oil" based on large scale statistical data of Greek olive oils analyzed by qNMR. Molecules. 2021;26(4):1115. doi:10.3390/molecules26041115.

6. Scotece M, Conde J, Abella V, López V, Francisco V, Ruiz C, Campos V, Lago F, Gomez R, Pino J, Gualillo O. Oleocanthal inhibits catabolic and inflammatory mediators in LPS-activated human primary osteoarthritis (OA) chondrocytes through MAPKs/NF-κB pathways. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. 2018;49(6):2414-2426. doi:10.33594/000000031.

7. Iacono A, Gómez R, Sperry J, Conde J, Bianco G, Meli R, Gómez-Reino JJ, Smith AB 3rd, Gualillo O. Effect of oleocanthal and its derivatives on inflammatory response induced by lipopolysaccharide in a murine chondrocyte cell line. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2010;62(6):1675-1682. doi:10.1002/art.27437.

8. Agrawal K, Melliou E, Li X, Pedersen TL, Wang SC, Magiatis P, Newman JW, Holt RR. Oleocanthal-rich extra virgin olive oil demonstrates acute anti-platelet effects in healthy men in a randomized trial. Journal of Functional Foods. 2017;36:84-93. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2017.06.046.

9. Abuznait AH, Qosa H, Busnena BA, El Sayed KA, Kaddoumi A. Olive-oil-derived oleocanthal enhances β-amyloid clearance as a potential neuroprotective mechanism against Alzheimer's disease: in vitro and in vivo studies. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 2013;4(6):973-982. doi:10.1021/cn400024q.

10. Qosa H, Batarseh YS, Mohyeldin MM, El Sayed KA, Keller JN, Kaddoumi A. Oleocanthal enhances amyloid-β clearance from the brains of TgSwDI mice and in vitro across a human blood-brain barrier model. ACS Chemical Neuroscience. 2015;6(11):1849-1859. doi:10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00190.

11. Elnagar AY, Sylvester PW, El Sayed KA. (-)-Oleocanthal as a c-Met inhibitor for the control of metastatic breast and prostate cancers. Planta Medica. 2011;77(10):1013-1019. doi:10.1055/s-0030-1270724.

12. LeGendre O, Breslin PAS, Foster DA. (-)-Oleocanthal rapidly and selectively induces cancer cell death via lysosomal membrane permeabilization. Molecular and Cellular Oncology. 2015;2(4):e1006077. doi:10.1080/23723556.2015.1006077.

13. Ruiz-García I, Ortíz-Flores R, Badía R, Lara E, García-Borrego A, García-Fernández M, García-Serrano S, Valdés S, Martín-Montañez E, Bermúdez-Silva FJ, et al. Rich oleocanthal and oleacein extra virgin olive oil and inflammatory and antioxidant status in people with obesity and prediabetes. The APRIL study: a randomised, controlled crossover study. Clinical Nutrition. 2023;42(8):1389-1398. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2023.06.027.

14. Gabbia D, Carpi S, Sarcognato S, Cannella L, Colognesi M, Scaffidi M, Polini B, Digiacomo M, Esposito Salsano J, Manera C, Macchia M, Nieri P, Carrara M, Cassano T, De Marco V, Guido M, Fogli S, De Martin S. The extra virgin olive oil polyphenol oleocanthal exerts antifibrotic effects in the liver. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2021;8:715183. doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.715183.

15. Peyrot des Gachons C, Uchida K, Bryant B, Shima A, Sperry JB, Dankulich-Nagrudny L, Tominaga M, Smith AB 3rd, Beauchamp GK, Breslin PAS. Unusual pungency from extra-virgin olive oil is attributable to restricted spatial expression of the receptor of oleocanthal. Journal of Neuroscience. 2011;31(3):999-1009. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1374-10.2011.

16. Lozano-Castellón J, Vallverdú-Queralt A, Rinaldi de Alvarenga JF, Illán M, Torrado-Prat X, Lamuela-Raventós RM. Domestic sautéing with EVOO: change in the phenolic profile. Antioxidants. 2020;9(1):77. doi:10.3390/antiox9010077.

17. Romero C, Medina E, Mateo MA, Brenes M. New by-products rich in bioactive substances from the olive oil mill processing. Sustainable Food Technology. 2024;2:386-405. doi:10.1039/D3FB00220A.

18. European Commission. Commission Regulation (EU) No 432/2012 of 16 May 2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods. Official Journal of the European Union L 136/1.