Study of the cyclooxygenase inhibition by polyphenol extracts derived from monocultivar oils from autochtonous Maltese olive tree varieties

The Maltese Islands form a small archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea that have been isolated physically from the closest European and African continents since the late Miocene period when harsh tectonic movements resulted in the small landmass. During the ensuing temporal and geographical isolation, flora and fauna have been subjected to intense selection pressure resulting in diversification from the forms found on the mainlands.

In this poster, the results of a study on the anti-inflammatory activity of phenolic products from monocultivar oil extracts derived from two indigenous olive drupe varietals are presented. Polar extracts were isolated from the oil using methanol-water and subsequently dried using rotary evaporation and freeze drying. The total antioxidant activity in the polar polyphenol fractions as well as suitable controls was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent (Sultana et al., 2009) followed by GC analysis. Extracts at test concentrations of 2 ppm and 200 ppm were tested on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 microgram/mL) stimulated human macrophage cells. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibition was studied using the Cayman enzyme immunoassay-chemical kit.