EFFECT OF OLIVE OIL ON IMMUNE FUNCTION IN MIDDLE-AGED MEN

Consumption of diets rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) has b een linked with a low prevalence of atherosclerosis and there has been great interest in the effects of MUFAs on lipoprotein metabolism. Les s attention has been paid to the effects of MUFAs on the immune system , yet cells of the immune system are an inherent part of the inflammat ory events involved in atherosclerosis and several animal studies show ed that olive oil has some potent immunomodulatory actions. We therefo re considered it important to investigate the effects of chronic consu mption of MUFAs on several immune cell functions in healthy humans. He althy middle-aged males entered a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial in which they consumed either a MUFA diet or a control diet for 2 mo. There was a significant decrease in the expression of intercell ular adhesion molecule 1 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from su bjects consuming the MUFA diet. Consumption of the MUFA diet did not a ffect natural killer cell activity or proliferation of mitogen-stimula ted leukocytes. The effects of a MUFA-rich diet on adhesion molecule e xpression may have implications for the influence of dietary fat on in flammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis.