Hydroxytyrosol in Foods: Analysis, Food Sources, EU Dietary Intake, and Potential Uses

Hydroxytyrosol (HT) is a phenolic compound with proven biological properties present in a limited number of foods such as table olives, virgin olive oil (VOO) and wines. The present work aims to evaluate the dietary intake of HT in the European (EU) population by compiling scattered literature data on its concentration in foods. The consumption of the involved foods was estimated based on the EFSA Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. The updated average contents of HT are as follows: 629.1, 5.2 and 2.1 mu g/g for olives, olive oil and wine, respectively. The HT estimated intake in the European Union (EU) adult population falls within 0.13-6.82 mg/day/person, with table olives and wine being the main contributors. The estimated mean dietary intake of HT in EU countries is 1.97 +/- 2.62 mg/day. Greece showed the highest HT intake (6.82 mg/day), while Austria presented the lowest (0.13 mg/day). Moreover, HT is an authorized novel food ingredient in the EU that can be added to different foods. Since the estimated HT intake is substantially low, the use of HT as a food ingredient seems feasible. This opens new possibilities for revalorizing waste products from olive oil and olive production which are rich HT sources.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the dietary intake of hydroxytyrosol (HT) in the European population by compiling scattered literature data. Olives, olive oil, and wine were identified as the main sources of HT. The estimated average intake varied among EU countries, with Greece showing the highest intake and Austria the lowest. The low estimated intake suggests that the use of HT as a food ingredient is feasible and offers new possibilities for utilizing waste products from olive oil and olive production.