High Tyrosol and Hydroxytyrosol Intake Reduces Arterial Inflammation and Atherosclerotic Lesion Microcalcification in Healthy Older Populations

Aging is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and convincing data have shown that chronic low-grade inflammation, which develops with advanced age, contributes significantly to cardiovascular risk. The present study aimed to use F-FDG/F-NaF-PET/CT imaging to, respectively, gauge arterial inflammation and microcalcification in a healthy elderly population and to assess the potential benefits of a tyrosol- and hydroxytyrosol-rich diet on these two markers of atherosclerotic plaque fragility. Eleven healthy participants (mean age 75 ± 5.67 years) were supplemented for 6 months with high polyphenol-rich extra virgin olive oil (HP-EVOO), extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), or refined olive oil (ROO). The participants underwent PET/CT imaging with F-FDG and F-NaF radiotracers at baseline and after 6 months. F-FDG and F-NaF uptakes were quantified using standardized uptake values (SUV) and were categorized based on artery calcification and olive oil type. A total of 324 slices of the aortas of the imaged participants were analyzed for arterial inflammation and 327 slices were analyzed for microcalcification. F-FDG uptake was significantly higher in the non-calcified segments than in the calcified segments (SUVmax = 2.70 ± 0.62 and SUVmax = 2.54 ± 0.44, respectively, < 0.042). Conversely, the non-calcified segments displayed significantly lower F-NaF uptake than the calcified segments (SUVmax = 1.90 ± 0.37 and 2.09 ± 0.24, respectively, < 0.0001). The 6-month supplementation with HP-EVOO induced a significant reduction in F-FDG uptake in both the non-calcified (2.93 ± 0.23 to 2.75 ± 0.38, < 0.004) and calcified segments of the aortas (2.25 ± 0.29 to 2.15 ± 0.19, < 0.02). F-NaF uptake was also significantly lower in patients supplemented with HP-EVOO (SUVmax = 1.98 ± 0.33 at baseline compared to 1.85 ± 0.28, after the 6-month supplementation, < 0.004), whereas no significant effect was observed with EVOO. Conversely, participants supplemented with ROO displayed a significant increase in F-NaF uptake (SUVmax = 1.78 ± 0.34 to 1.95 ± 0.34, < 0.0001). The present study confirmed that a phenolic-compound-rich diet reduces both arterial inflammation and atherosclerotic lesion microcalcification and demonstrated that F-FDG/F-NaF-PET/CT imaging is a valuable approach for assessing age-related arterial damage.