Nutritional implications of olives and sugar: attenuation of post-prandial glucose spikes in healthy volunteers by inhibition of sucrose hydrolysis and glucose transport by oleuropein.

The combined inhibition of sucrase activity and of glucose transport observed in vitro was sufficient to modify digestion of low doses of sucrose in healthy volunteers. In comparison, the weak inhibition of α-amylase by OLE was not enough to modify blood sugar when consumed with a starch-rich food, suggesting that a threshold potency is required for inhibition of digestive enzymes in order to translate into in vivo effects.