Interventions
scratchy, throat
Study patients self‐administered 0.75 mg of polyphenols in 2 mL of high polyphenolic olive oil twice a day for 3 months. High polyphenolic olive oil is normal olive oil obtained from olives before they complete full maturation. Its high content in polyphenols gives it a special bitter taste. Early harvest olive oil has been an appreciated product since ancient times and has been part of staple food for millennia in the Mediterranean Basin. Early harvest olive oil used for buccopharyngeal administration was provided by Oleo Toledo group in bottles 500 mL with full standards for human consumption. The olive oil used in the study contained 406 mg of polyphenols per kg of olive oil according to the laboratory determination by the Laboratory of Eurocaja Rural (INE/0451/21). Patients were asked to take the investigational product on an empty stomach and retain it for a couple of seconds in the mouth before swallowing. Participants were advised that they would experience a characteristic scratchy feeling and bitter taste at their throat and mouth produced by the natural high content of polyphenols in early harvest olive oil.