There is little we can say that we have not already been told about the virtues of the Mediterranean diet. However, some scientists still persist in studying this diet and its components, with questions about what makes this diet more beneficial or what we can learn from it.
A recent study led by researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona tries to answer this second question.
Very present compounds. To do this, the team performed an analysis focused on a selection of key compounds that we can find in plants such as garlic, saffron, olive or rosemary, among others. These are plants closely related to the Mediterranean diet since they provide some of the most used ingredients and condiments in it.
The team responsible for the study points out that some of these active components are “promising” when considering treatments for diseases such as atherosclerosis. They also indicate that they could help reduce the risk of problems such as myocardial infarction or stroke.
Plants and Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet is closely linked to a series of ingredients and condiments, many of them extracted from plants that we can find in the regions adjacent to the sea that bathes the coasts of European, Asian and African countries.
The team It started from six “representative” plants: garlic (Allium sativum), the hawthorn bush (Crataegus monogyna), saffron (Crocussativus), the olive tree (Olea europaea), rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus), and the vine (Vitis vinifera).
The study focused, however, on fifteen bioactive compounds present in these plants: diallyl trisulfide, allicin and S-allyl (cysteine) (in garlic); quercetin, apigenin and chlorogenic acid (in the hawthorn bush); crocina and safranal (in saffron); oleic acid, oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol and oleacein (in olive); rosmarinic acid and carnosic acid (in rosemary); and resveratrol (in the vine).
Analyzing the literature. The team carried out a review of the scientific literature focusing on these compounds and their potential properties in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. That is, we searched among previously published studies for those that analyzed the potential benefits of these compounds.
Details of the process were published in an article in the magazine Food Bioscience.
Mixtures and dosage. The team explains that extracts based on these compounds are “promising,” but also points out some factors to consider. For example, the so-called “matrix effect”. This refers to the fact that the combined ingestion of these compounds with others can alter the effectiveness of their therapeutic effects, both to improve and diminish these effects.
This, together with the greater or lesser amount of a compound contained in a food, means that it is not always possible to extrapolate the benefits of a compound to the food that contains it. Understanding the interactions between different compounds, the team highlights, is “essential” to optimize their therapeutic application.
One last detail that the team focuses on is the need not to equate “natural” with the best, even in these contexts. “The ‘natural’ label does not guarantee safety, and this emphasizes the need to prioritize pharmacokinetic, toxicological and clinical studies to evaluate its effectiveness, safety and efficiency compared to existing medicines,” They emphasize in their press release.
Image | Angeleses