Olive oil and haemostasis: platelet function, thrombogenesis and fibrinolysis

Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest nutritional models used in developed countries. The actual interest in this dietary model is based in two main premises. First, the high palatability for the consumer, which aids to the adherence to the model on a life-long basis, and second, the mounting evidence on the beneficial properties that its consumption provokes in cardiovascular risk factors, cancer and cognitive age associated decline. Olive oil is the principal component of Mediterranean diet, both by its predominant position as the main energy source, and its presence in almost all cooked and/or seasoned food. The influence of the olive oil on the beneficial effects of the Mediterranean diet is well known. Albeit an initial stage in which monounsaturated fatty acids (mainly oleic acid) were studied as the sole player of these effects, the knowledge about the micronutrients has evolved to a much more complex model in which the processing of the oil and the content in some minor contents of the virgin olive oil play a fundamental role. In this article we will review the current evidences that relate olive oil with the haemostatic system.