This project is part of the ‘PREDIABOLE’ project: Developing a functional olive oil enriched with oleanlic acid for the prevention of type 2 diabetes in prediabetic patients’, financed by EIT-FOOD, led by Acesur and in which the University of Warsaw and the Campden CBHU Technology Center collaborate. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, supports EIT Food.

The ‘PREDIABOLE’ project: Developing a functional olive oil enriched with oleanolic acid for the prevention of type 2 diabetes in prediabetic patients’. It pursues the development and placing on the market of a new functional food that, incorporated into the diet on a regular basis, modulates the human metabolism towards a healthy profile, preventing the appearance of metabolic diseases, mainly type II diabetes.

The new product consists of an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) enriched with oleanolic acid (OA). Oleanolic acid is a natural component with a great positive impact on human health, which is found in the skin and pulp of the olive. However, only a small fraction of this passes into the olive oil during its extraction. By enriching extra virgin olive oil with greater quantities of the aforementioned acid, a new functional food is obtained focused on developing the concept of personalized nutrition to combat chronic diseases associated with obesity and aging, such as diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases.

Within the project, oleanolic acid is extracted sustainably from the leaves of the olive tree itself, which are obtained as a by-product in the olive oil extraction process, thus also promoting the concept of circular economy, valuing the olive leaf.

Thus, the new food combines the healthy benefits of EVOO with the functional properties of oleanolic acid, so that this product, consumed regularly, ensures a drastic reduction (more than 51.5%) in the probability of developing metabolic diseases in the consumer , in particular Diabetes Mellitus type 2.

These functional properties have been widely demonstrated scientifically through clinical studies on real, randomized, controlled patients, carried out in different research projects over the last 15 years, led by the Higher Center for Scientific Research (CSIC-INSTITUTO DE LA GRASA) and the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) and in which Acesur already participated. These clinical trials gave rise to a patent (EP18382510) whose holders are the CSIC and the SAS and which Acesur has recently licensed for commercial exploitation.

Acesur’s R&D Department is working on the development and marketing of this new product with the financial support of EIT FOOD. The execution period of the PREDIABOLE project extends from June 2022 to December 2023. The project is co-financed by EIT Food, an organization dependent on the European Union, and the University of Warsaw and the Campden CBHU technology center collaborate.