Wastewater from olive mills phytocomplex

Virgin olive oil is widely recognized as a healthy food. Most of its beneficial effects on human health are associated with its polyphenols. One of the main classes of polyphenols in olive oil are tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein and their derivatives. In the production of olive oil there is a fraction of water-soluble polyphenols that is currently discarded and is one of the main waste products of the olive oil production process. This fraction is very rich in the aforementioned polyphenolic compounds, which gives this by-product an interesting added value for health, suitable for exploitation as a functional food ingredient. Nowadays there is a global interest in trying to reduce the waste products derived from the different food chains in order to move to a circular economy. The valorization through the search for a new use of this by-product can represent a successful strategy for the implementation of circular economy models in the agri-food industry.

The aim of the project is to evaluate the effect of a phytocomplex of olive mill wastewater bioactives on human health through a clinical trial. 

• The present research is the natural follow-up study of an active research line from the reference partner of this project in which previous works aimed firstly to profile the product and then to study the human bioavailability of its bioactive compounds through the execution of an in vivo postprandial study. 
• This last investigation is currently under development and providing promising data demonstrating the bioavailability of the main metabolites. The results from this preliminary study will pave the way to the design of an intervention study aimed to evaluate the potential of this phytocomplex as a bioactive ingredient for the human diet. 
• Effects of the long-term intervention will be measured on different health outcomes such as body weight, blood pressure and blood biochemistry. 
• Adherence to the intervention and compound bioavailability will be measured by metabolomics analyses of collected biofluids.

• To provide scientific evidence on effects of long-term administration of the olive mill wastewaters bioactives. 
• To valorize the currently unused olive oil by-product and to make a key step towards the development of a potential health claim by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). 
• To generate crucial knowledge for the potential to close the chain of olive processing, focused on the implementation of resource-efficient circular food systems through the reduction of food losses and generated wastes. 
• To propose the food product as one of commercial value, closing the industrial cycle by increasing the overall profit from the olive processing chain by a sustainable and efficient management of generated residues.