The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) on the world population is high and has, as result, received much attention from researchers. In particular, changes in a person’s lifestyle, such as diet, have been investigated and followers of the Mediterranean diet have seen significantly lower rates of cognitive decline associated with this disease. Two critical components of this diet, red wine and olive oil, have shown potential in decreasing amyloid- aggregates, tau fibrillization, and neuroinflammation, all precursors of AD, presumably due to their high content of polyphenols. In this study, a close examination of oleocanthal, one of many polyphenols in extra-virgin olive oil, will be conducted to assess its unknown ability to disrupt the aggregation of amyloid-(A) proteins. In addition to the entire molecule, each of the two components of oleocanthal labeled below in Figure 1 will also be tested to learn of which functional groups, if any, in this molecule produce<br/>these potential inhibitory effects. Oleocanthal will be extracted through liquid-liquid partitioning and cleaved into two components by a hemicellulase. Afterwards, the extracted oleocanthal, cleaved molecule <b>2</b>, and purchased 2-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)ethanol or tyrosol will all be individually examined for their effect on A aggregation using a Thioflavin T (ThT) assay. Comparisons will then be drawn from the collected data in hopes of discovering if oleocanthal is a potential inhibitor of A aggregation and if so, identify the portion of the molecule that has<br/>the highest influence on this property.

Effect of oleocanthal extract from extra-virgin olive oil on the aggregation of amyloid-beta proteins

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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