Consumption of olives (Olea europaea L.) is associated with a low incidence of
inflammation-related diseases. Olive fruit is rich in bioactive
pentacyclic triterpenoids, mainly
maslinic acid. This study, a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled trial, examined the effects of an orally administered
maslinic acid supplement, olive fruit extract, on 20 middle-aged and elderly volunteers with mild knee joint
pain. Each subject (58 ± 7 years) received either olive fruit extract, containing 50 mg
maslinic acid (n = 12), or placebo (n = 8) daily for 12 weeks and evaluated for
pain and physical functions as primary outcome measures. Secondary outcome measures included body composition and inflammatory
biomarkers in serum. Although both groups exhibited improved
pain visual analogue scale score and quality of life after supplementation, symptoms were better in the
maslinic acid group than in the placebo group. After 12 weeks,
maslinic acid group exhibited significant decrease in
body weight and body mass index suggesting that
maslinic acid affected the weight of volunteers with mild knee joint
pain. Therefore, olive products containing
maslinic acid may be useful as a new preventive and therapeutic
food ingredient for arthritic diseases. Since this clinical study is a preliminary study, it was not registered in a publicly accessible database.