INFORM October 2025

22 • inform October 2025, Vol. 36 (9)

Scientists study a valuable ingredient in olive oil Apostolos Kiritsakis

Consuming extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and certain types of cancer. These desirable health outcomes are linked to a fatty acid composition with oleic acid being the main component, as well as the presence of minor compounds such as polar phenols, tocopherols, and sterols.

Recently an international research team identified a method for analyzing a compound in extra virgin olive oil which plays a key role in inhibiting the enzyme TMA-lyase—3,3-dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB). The TMA enzyme is produced by the microbiome after people con sume foods such as red meat. It is then absorbed into the bloodstream and oxidized to TMAO in the liver. In animal models, TMAO seems to facilitate the development of atherosclerosis—the buildup of fat and cholesterol in the arteries—when fed a diet rich in animal protein (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.11.055). Inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis mirror the immunologic processes of rheumatoid arthritis (https://doi.org/10.15420/ecr.2020.44). The pres ence of the gut microbiota-dependent metabolite TMAO is associated with poor prognosis in pulmonary arterial hypertension (https://doi. org/10.1093/ehjopen/oeac021). Until now, there have been limited, fragmented reports on the importance of DMB, and no reliable method for determining DMB con centrations in extra virgin olive oil. Our team has confirmed the presence of the DMB component in olive oil for the first time in the laboratory based on a reliable scientific method and its values have been deter mined with impressive results. NO ANALYSIS METHOD In June, we published our results in the Journal of Food Bioactives under the title “Quantification of 3,3-dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB) in olive oil: a rapid and novel method.” This research provided a definitive answer to two basic questions for the scientific olive oil community— whether DMB actually exists in olive oil and whether it gives olive oil even greater importance to human health (https://doi.org/10.26599/ JFB.2025.95030413). In the 1980s, I was the first to speak about the value of polyphenols, having determined their change in the olive fruit as it ripens. Soon after I

• The compound 3,3-dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB) is known to limit the formation of the trimethylamine a precursor to some inflammatory diseases, by blocking the choline trimethylamine enzyme, TMA-lyase. • The team developed a HS-GC/MS method to determine the DMB amounts in nine extra virgin olive oil samples. • The team plans to use the method to better understand the contribution DMB makes to improving human health.