SCIENCE

-- Rick Weiss

Olive Oil May Prevent Ulcers

Olive oil has beneficial effects on fats in the bloodstream and anticoagulant effects on the clotting system -- two things that lower the risk of heart attack and stroke. Now, there is evidence it might help prevent stomach ulcers, too.

A team of researchers at the University Hospital of Valme, in Spain, report that substances in virgin olive oil called polyphenols can kill Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that causes most peptic ulcers. Chronic infection with H. pylori also increases a person's risk of developing stomach cancer.

Concepcion Romero, Antonio De Castro and their colleagues added bacteria to various mixtures of olive oil and water. Mixtures as dilute as 80 percent water killed eight different strains of H. pylori, including three that were resistant to some antibiotics.

They then made simulated gastric juice, which contained digestive enzymes and acid, and tested whether the 10 different polyphenols retained their activity. Many did, including two -- Ty-EDA and Hy-EDA -- that were the best killers of H. pylori.

They ultimately found that Ty-EDA could kill the bacterium at concentrations as low as 1.5 micrograms per milliliter of fluid. Other food substances have been shown to inhibit H. pylori, but only at much higher concentrations.

Whether the olive oil polyphenols can get through to the bacteria, which live under a layer of mucus lining the stomach, is still unanswered. The research appears in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.

-- David Brown