• In April 2023, the last part of the clinical study for the production of a dietary supplement from the organic olives of Sakellaropoulos begins.
• After 3 clinical studies, lasting 10 years, in healthy volunteers and patients, that showed their beneficial effect on the lipid profile.
• The clinical research was carried out in collaboration with the Department of Pharmacy of NKUA, at Ippokratio GNA and 401 GMHA.
• The selection of the olives by Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms was made among 150 different types of olives, due to their high content of phenols.
From April 2023, the last part of the expansion of the 3rd clinical study begins for the final production of a dietary supplement using the “Plus Health Kalamata olives” by Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms from Sparta, which present an extremely high content of phenols compared to the average values of table olives.
The 3rd study was carried out from 2021 to 2022 in patients with hyperlipidemia who received daily 2 capsules of the dietary supplement already notified to the National Organization for Medicines, produced from the olives of Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms. The production process of this product was based on an international patent developed by the Department of Pharmacy of NKUA,
The beneficial properties of Kalamata table olives for health, mainly in the lipid profile of volunteers and in particular in the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio as well as in the protection of the cardiovascular system, resulted from clinical studies and research carried out from 2014 until today, in healthy volunteers and patients.
For the specific studies, the Kalamata organic table olives with a high phenolic content by the Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms from Sparta were selected exclusively, among 150 different types and qualities of table olives, after their phenol content and especially hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol content was examined.
These are organically grown olives, without pasteurization, produced by the process of natural fermentation, without chemical additives or preservatives and possess superior organoleptic and quality characteristics that are confirmed by the awards they have received in the largest taste and quality competitions around the world.
At the same time, the organic Kalamata olives by Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms have exhibited extremely high levels of phenols, specifically hydroxytyrosol and tyrosol, which exceed by a large percentage the average values of the olives analyzed during the period 2014 – 2023. It is noted that tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol are substances which have been attributed antioxidant and cardioprotective properties.
Based on analyzes carried out with the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance method, these olives contain more than 1850 mg/Kg of phenols and thus the daily consumption of just 2 – 3 grams of olives provides more than 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol or their derivatives, corresponding to the consumption of 20 grams of olive oil, which belongs to the category of olive oils that protect against blood lipid oxidation according to regulation 432/2012 of the European Union.
These are the main reasons why the organic Kalamata olives by Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms were chosen to participate exclusively in the clinical studies and it is worth noting that in the last ten (10) years, in order to enable the development scientific research, Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms have donated more than 700 kg of organic olives, which have been used in the three clinical studies, as well as in their extension for the production of a dietary supplement, in the form of capsules.
As announced by the associate professor of Pharmacognosy and Natural Products Chemistry of the Department of Pharmacy of NKUA, Dr. Magiatis Prokopios, with his letter from March 17, 2023, he warmly thanks Mr. George Sakellaropoulos, founder of Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms for his kind donations and his continuous effort to produce very high-quality olives, hoping that he will be an example to be imitated by other olive and olive oil producers.
The first study was conducted on healthy volunteers from 2014 to 2016 and was the first study internationally to show the beneficial effect of table olives on the lipid profile of the participants. The results were presented at the international conference of the Oleocanthal International Society, 2-3 June 2016 at the International Olympic Academy, at Olympia.
Based on the positive results of the 1st study, a 2nd study was carried out in a larger group of patients with hyperlipidemia, lasting five years, from 2017 to 2022 and entitled “The effect of daily consumption of Kalamata table olives on the lipidemic profile of patients with hyperlipidemia”.
The research was carried out at the Hypertension Unit, First University Cardiology Clinic, Ippokratio GNA (Director Professor Konstantinos Tsioufis) and at the Biopathological Laboratory, 401 General Military Hospital of Athens (Director Mr. Konstantinos Liaskonis) in collaboration with the Department of Pharmacy of NKUA (Professor N. Drakoulis) where 94 volunteers participated, of which 71 completed the study.
Statistically significant results were found in cholesterol and LDL levels of 71 patients (p<0.05), while no significant change in HDL and TG levels was observed. Cholesterol showed a significant decrease of 9.01 units and LDL levels showed a decrease of 10.98 units after only 30 days of daily consumption of just five olives.
The type of olive used for the 2nd clinical research were the “Valsamikes Kalamata Olives” (Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms, Sparta) which contained hydroxytyrosol 1300 mg / Kg and tyrosol 560 mg / Kg. Daily consumption of 5 olives yielded 25 mg of hydroxytyrosol and 10 mg of tyrosol in each patient and the results were published in the annual edition of the World Olive center for Health, on May 2022.
The impressive results of these two clinical studies, with a daily intake of just 5 organic olives from Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms, allowed the research team of the Department of Pharmacy of NKUA to transform the olives in the form of powder into a capsule, with an international patent, and to conduct the 3rd study which was carried out in patients with hyperlipidemia, who received daily 2 capsules of the dietary supplement that has been notified to the National Organization for Medicines and was produced from organic olives by Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms.
The first results of the 3rd clinical study led to its extension to a larger number of participating patients (>100 subjects, with borderline hyperlipidemia not receiving treatment) and the last part of the study starting in April 2023, in which the Kalamata olives by Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms with the commercial title “Plus Health Kalamata olives”, that have a very high content of phenols will be used as raw material for the production of the dietary supplement.
It should be noted that neither olives nor the dietary supplement replace drugs for the control of hyperlipidemia, but the purpose of the study is to demonstrate that they could be used by people with borderline hyperlipidemia, combined with an appropriate dietary intervention.
Remarkable, as well as a scientific confirmation of the value of specific table olives in human health, is the fact that with the organic Kalamata olives of the Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms, the School of Public Health of the famous Yale University in the USA, in collaboration with researchers from the Department of Cardiology, Yale School of Medicine, is already conducting a new research project entitled “Olives for Health” from March 2022, examining the health benefits associated with daily consumption of table olives.
This leading university in the USA is conducting a study on 226 volunteers and of course, it will also upgrade the diet of its students by including the daily consumption of olives with a high content of phenols. This research project is carried out in the framework of the activities related to the establishment of the Yale Olive Sciences and Health Institute (YOSHI).
In addition, the research project “Olives for Health” has acquired the registration number NCT05218980 in the scientific database of clinical studies ClinicalTrials.gov, of the United States of America as well as 220 countries, maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the USA.
It is worth noting that this is the first study, which is conducted and registered in the well-known scientific database ClinicalTrials.gov and is carried out with Greek organic Kalamata table olives.
The founder of the homonymous farms, Mr. George Sakellaropoulos, comments about the participation in clinical studies and research: “Beyond and above our 634 international awards, which constitute a world record, scientific research and synergies with university research institutions in Greece and abroad have been at the core of Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms since their inception, 31 years ago.
I believed and still do believe in the high health protective value of our olive products, considering that they belong to the category of bio-functional foods and, to witness them being selected and participating in research of such high level university institutions, is a great honor for us. Our purpose is to prove in a valid and scientific way that changing the dietary habits of groups of people reduces the risk of disease in extremely high and particularly remarkable percentages.”
