Fast determination of virgin olive oil phenolic metabolites in human high‐density lipoproteins

In recent years it has been confirmed that the consumption of olive oil prevents the oxidation of biomolecules owing to its monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and phenolic content. The main objective of the study was to develop an ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) method for the determination of phenolic compounds in human high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) samples. At the same time, the influence of olive oil consumption on the phenolic metabolite levels was evaluated in a European population. The participants were 51 healthy men, aged 20–60. They were randomized to two consecutive intervention periods with the administration of raw olive oil with low and high polyphenolic content. The UHPLC‐MS/MS analytical method has been validated for hydroxytyrosol and homovanillic acid in terms of linearity (r² = 0.99 and 1.00), repeatability (5.7 and 6.5%) reproducibility (6.2 and 7%), recovery (98 to 97%), limits of detection (1.7 to 1.8 ppb) and quantification (5.8 and 6.3 ppb).The levels of the studied metabolites increased significantly after high polyphenolic content virgin olive oil ingestion (p <0.05) compared with lowpolyphenolic content olive oil. Virgin olive oil consumption increases the levels of phenolic metabolites in HDL and thus provides human HDL with more efficient antioxidant protection. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.