Compound From Olive-Pomace Oil Inhibits HIV Spread

Researchers in Madrid are claiming that they have discovered that a type of wax found in olive skin can help to slow the spread of HIV. "Their work shows that maslinic acid - a natural product extracted from dry olive-pomace oil in oil mills - inhibits serin-protease, an enzyme used by HIV to release itself from the infected cell into the extracellular environment and, consequently, to spread the infection into the whole body. These scientists from Granada determined that the use of olive-pomace oil can produce an 80% slowing down in AIDS spreading in the body."

Comments

And it's a good fat too

[gbulmash]

Rachel Ray finds another use for Eee-Vee-Ohh-Ohh.

- Greg

Re:And it's a good fat too

[rob1980]

Yum-o!

hmm.

[apodyopsis]

..and works as a lubricant too? :-)

my, thats handy.

Re:hmm.

[Rakshasa Taisab]

My hand does not have HIV, so i fail to see the relevance.

Re:hmm.

[Lockejaw]

..and works as a lubricant too? :-)

If you use it that way, it may increase rate of HIV transmission -- remember, folks, condoms are soluble in oil.

HIV is not AIDs

[MSTCrow5429]

I'm skeptical. The source article, by stating "these scientists from Granada determined that the use of olive-pomace oil can produce an 80% slowing down in AIDS spreading in the body," conflates HIV with AIDs. You can slow down the spread a virus, such as the human immunodeficiency virus, in the body. You cannot slow down the spread of a syndrome, theorized not as caused directly by HIV, but by opportunistic infections as a result of HIV infection, in the body; only said opportunistic infections.

Re:HIV is not AIDs

[Chris Burke]

Yeah, the opportunistic infections have an opportunity because of HIVs effect on the human immune system. Reduce the spread of HIV, reduce the effect on the immune system, reduce the opportunities of opportunistic infections. Pretty simple if you ask me.

I don't think that a layman's article conflating HIV with AIDS -- not an unfair layman's conflation, considering that there is at least a causal relationship between them even if they are not the same thing -- should inspire such skepticism.

Re:Please help me understand this.

[evanbd]

Yikes, there are so many problems with this arguments I don't know where to begin. But, whether you're trolling or not, it's a commonly stated one, so I'll answer it (at least in part).

Regardless of how you define "moral behavior," many cases of AIDS are spread through "moral behavior." People get it from their spouse, when neither of them knew the spouse had it. The spouse might have gotten it from a previous partner, or a blood transfusion problem (fortunately rather rare now). What about the child who contracts it from their mother?

Whether sex outside of marriage is moral or not is a matter of personal interpretation. Certainly much of society views it as normal. Many people have a single monogamous relationship at a time, but more than one through their lifetime. Is that so immoral that we should condemn them to die because of it?

There is no evidence of "recruitment" by homosexuals. Rather, there is a mounting body of evidence that people become homosexual, bisexual, or heterosexual as a result of factors beyond their control -- both genetic and environmental. This, combined with ample of evidence of homosexuality in the animal kingdom, would seem to imply that homosexuality is quite natural -- and that therefore the classification of it as immoral is a rather odd invention of mankind.

As to why AIDS gets so much funding -- it's a horrible disease, with a near-100% fatality rate. It infects a staggering number of people. It is currently busy depopulating much of sub-Saharan Africa (where, by the way, the primary mechanism of spreading is between married partners and from mother to child). Diseases that are epidemic in scale, have exceedingly high fatality rates, and which we don't know how to cure should scare anyone. Hopefully all this research will be helpful if another such disease appears.

its NOT in the Extra Virgin Olive Oil

[G4from128k]

Olive pomace is the left-over skins and fruit pulp for the first pressings of the olives. Secondary treatment of the pomace with steam and solvents extracts the residual oil and also extracts this seemingly beneficial oil/wax.

Ironically, the cheaper grades of olive oil probably have more of this oil.

Here is why

[backslashdot]

The HIV virus is a very interesting virus. Of all the common viruses, it is one of most deadly and the hardest to cure. It kills millions of people every year. Which other virus is doing that? Please tell me. This is why it is interesting for study. Most of other infectious diseases people are dying of can be cured with antibiotics, but people never get them.

When the next viral pandemic hits, we want to make sure we know all about how to quickly and effectively deal with it.

Cancer and heart disease do get more funding than AIDS (as they should). Although it's pretty sad that I have to mention this .. you should know that curing AIDS will save many heterosexual and monogamous women's lives in Africa (you and your preacher should be interested in that right?). These are innocent women who's husbands cheated on them with prostitutes. Also importantly, treating AIDS will enable children in Africa to grow up with mothers and/or fathers.

PS> Why don't you stop hating? The venom is eating away your rational thoughts.

Re:Here is why

[eln]

Of all the common viruses, it is one of most deadly and the hardest to cure. It kills millions of people every year. Which other virus is doing that? Please tell me. Not caused by a virus, but how about malaria? It not only kills millions of people a year but has severe economic impacts, because even if it doesn't kill you you can get it over and over again. It's hard to develop an economy when a huge chunk of the people are sick most of the time.

Malaria and AIDS in concert are great contributors to the overall sense of hopelessness and the inability to sustain a functioning society that plagues much of Africa. They are both exacerbated by poverty, and in turn exacerbate poverty, making it much more difficult for people to lift themselves up.

Finding cures for malaria and AIDS would probably do more for the overall global economy than anything else could.

Correlation

[Brian Cohen]

I noticed that eastern Mediterranean countries that produce a lot of olives have a lower incidence of adult HIV. Not to imply that there is causation, and I know that other factors are at work, but I still found it interesting.

Re:skeptical at best.

[Chris Burke]

I'm always skeptical of people who classify Spain as "third world".

Re:OT: E.V.O.O doesn't mean what she thinks it mea

[spun]

Not just his, but outside the US, everyone's: the first run off from the first pressing of a batch of olives. It contains the purest oil and the least amount of olive solids. The olive solids create acidity, but that is by no means the proper measure of virgin or extra virgin status.

What did you think it meant?

extra virgin?

[192939495969798999]

What's an extra virgin? the /. regulars should know, right? hey-o!

Re:OT: E.V.O.O doesn't mean what she thinks it mea

[Synchis]

As mentioned in a subsequent reply, Extra Virgin Olive Oil refers to the very first Oil taken from the first pressing of olives, and traditionally has nothing to do with the oil's acidity.

In the states (and I presume canada) oils go through processing to remove impurities, kill bacteria, etc... and so whats labelled on a store shelf as extra virgin olive oil, really isn't, in the traditional sense. This is also why most north american olive oils are shipped in clear plastic containers, instead of opaque glass bottles. Traditional EVOO is light sensitive, and should be stored in opaque glass or metal cans to preserve the best flavour.

But yes, frying in EVOO is ridiculous. I use Peanut oil to fry in, and to season my Cast Iron pans (the best non-stick pan you'll ever know). :)

Re:Please help me understand this.

[Ironix]

I'm a homosexual and I've been HIV+ for 11 years now. Lucky for me, I'm one of the small percentage of people with whom the virus seems to have a difficult time spreading. As such, in those 11 years I have yet to take any medication.

Now with that out of the way, I must stress that as a homosexual I am completely and utterly uninterested in converting ANYONE to my lifestyle. Nor have I ever in my 13 years of being 'out' even tried to 'convert' anyone. I would think that you would find this true of most any homosexual that you'd care to talk to.

With that said, I have yet to collect a toaster oven.

Re:skeptical at best.

[roman_mir]

Well, it's not one of the States, it must be the 'third world'.

Re:Please help me understand this.

[element-o.p.]

Dude, I'm Christian too, but seriously -- comments like this are entirely counter-productive. Let me dissect your, and I use the term loosely, "logic" point by point:

1) Quote: Why does AIDS get such a huge amount of funding?
Perhaps because it is a truly horrible disease that brings a boatload of suffering to millions of people around the world?

2) Quote: Other diseases kill far more people every year...
True. Do you think no one is working on them?

3) Quote: ...and most of them aren't caught by immoral behavior.
Is AIDS/HIV only caught by immoral behavior? Back in the late '80s, there was a huge story on the news about a kid in Florida (IIRC) who caught AIDS from a blood transfusion (this was before screening blood for HIV was as common as it is now). In what type of immoral behavior did this kid engage? How about EMT's, paramedics, doctors, nurses or other good Samaritans who contract AIDS while attempting to render assistance to someone else who has AIDS? If you are a paramedic or E.R. nurse, can you tell for certain which of your patients is "moral" before supplying medical care? Or would you just prefer to let everyone care for themselves?

4) Quote: The pastor at my church says it's the gays promoting their choices as normal behind all this.
The problem with conspiracy theories is that it requires everyone involved in the conspiracy to carry the secret to the grave. Most people can't keep a secret. Ergo, conspiracies of the magnitude you are describing tend to be very, very rare.

5) Quote: The homosexuals are indoctrinating your children and making them choose their lifestyle. They can't reproduce so they have no choice BUT to recruit. They are forcing the government to back their behavior with laws... Laws against God and Jesus.
Like I said above, I am a Christian, too. I disagree with the homosexual lifestyle for the same reasons that you don't agree with it. But I'm also the first person to say, yeah, I've made mistakes in my life, too. I'm no more or less perfect than the very people you want to turn your back to, and neither are you. You say God gave laws prohibiting homosexuality. He also gave laws prohibiting adultery. Do you remember the story in the New Testament where the Pharisees wanted to stone the woman "caught in the act of adultery&quot? Do you remember Jesus' answer? "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."

Now let's take this one step further. What do you think is a Christian's purpose on earth? Somehow I doubt it's to work hard five days a week, sit in a pew on Sunday morning, buy a big house and a nice car and watch the world turn. I suspect it has a little more to do with telling others that they can be freed from the screwed up lives we tend to live when left to our own devices. If that's the case, then do you think someone is going to listen to you if you start out by telling them that, because of their own immorality, funding to cure the disease that is slowly taking their life away should be canceled? How callous is that? On the contrary, I think a true Christian -- someone who really lives the life modeled by Jesus -- would instead be rushing to the sides of the AIDS victims in an attempt to reach them with the gospel before the end of their lives. If researchers can develop a drug to buy you more time to reach such a person, a Christian should be all over that.

The pastor at my church says you should hate the sin, but never the sinner. That , in my humble opinion, is pretty good logic.