CreAgri gets patent for olive antioxidant
US Patent 7,713,569, officially issued on May 11, covers methods for the production, isolation and formulation of hydroxytyrosol from the juice of olives.
A polyphenol, hydroxytyrosol is thought to be the main antioxidant compound in olives, and believed to play a significant role in the many health benefits attributed to olive oil. These include improved lipid and thrombotic profile, insulin-mediated glucose metabolism, blood pressure, hemostasis, endothelial function, inflammation, and oxidative stress.
The new patent, which CreAgri says is the 13th in its portfolio, covers the extraction of juice (or vegetation water) from olives.
Acid is added to stabilize the vegetation water and prevent fermentation. The mixture is incubated to allow oleuropein to convert to hydroxytyrosol, and then fractionated to separate hydroxytyrosol from other components.
Health benefits
The hydroxytyrosol ingredient is said to be useful for “a variety of health purposes” in dietary supplements, functional foods and drinks, and personal care products. A particular benefit highlighted in the patent is skin protection when taken orally.
The patent states: “Provided herein are compositions and methods for the protection of skin damage resulting from exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR). The hydroxytyrosol obtained by the method of the invention can be administered orally orparenterally. Oral dosage forms can be in a solid or liquid form. Such dosage forms can be formulated from purified hydroxytyrosol or they can be formulated from aqueous or aqueous-alcoholic extracts.”
CreAgri produces hydroxytyrosol using its Integrale process, which removes the pits from the pulp of organic olives and separates the polyphenolic-rich water from extra virgin olive oil. It then processes the olive juice with citric acid (1 percent) to obtain a high concentration hydroxytyrosol and protect against phenolic oxidation, polymerization and microbial fermentation.
The patent can be found here.
