Olive Leaf

What Is Olive Leaf?

Olive leaves are often marketed as antibacterial agents — however, they aren’t the best antibacterials out there, and the fad of using olive leaf to prevent cold and flu is likely just a temporary trend.

What olive leaf is useful for, is supporting cardiovascular health. Oleuropein, as well as some of the other iridoid glycosides present in the leaf, have been found to produce mild ACE inhibition, dilate the coronary arteries, and lower blood pressure.

Olive leaf has been shown in animal studies to be anti-atherosclerotic, anti-cholesterol, and hypolipidemic. All of these actions directly benefit the health of the heart.

What Is Olive Leaf Used For?

Olive leaf’s most popular uses is for cold/flu prophylaxis. However, this is not the best use for this herb, nor the best herb for this action. Its prophylactic activity is not well backed up in the scientific literature and is considered to have only mid-grade antiviral or antibacterial activity.

The primary use for olive leaf by health practitioners is as a cardiotonic, and antiatherosclerotic treatment.

Traditional Uses

The olive tree was first mentioned in the Bible (Ezekiel 47:12) as; “The fruit thereof shall be for meat and the leaf thereof for medicine.” The ancient Egyptians also used it for mummification and the ancient Greeks for treating fevers.

Olive leaf has been traditionally used to treat high blood pressure, angina, coughs, fevers, and as a diuretic, emmenagogue, liver stimulant, and stomachic. Topically it has been used for snakebites, and mouth ulcers. ^{1Reference 1Bone · 2003A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs: Herbal formulations for the individual patient}.

Botanical Information

Olive is a part of the Oleaceae family of plants, which includes roughly 700 different species in 26 genera. Plants in this family are generally trees or shrubs and have fragrant flowers.

Other medicinal species in this family include jasmine, ash, fringe trees, lilac, and ligustrum.

Pharmacology & Medical Research

ACE Inhibitor

An aqueous extract of olive leaf was found to inhibit ACE in vitro. This action was noted to be through the oleacein content of the leaf ^{4Reference 4Petkov et al. · 1972Pharmacological analysis of the iridoid oleuropein}.

Cardiotonic

Olive leaf was not only found to inhibit ACE activity but was also shown to be hypotensive, decrease arrhythmia and coronary spasm, and shown to dilate the coronary arteries of the heart ^{1,3Reference 1Bone · 2003A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs: Herbal formulations for the individual patientReference 3Hansen et al. · 1996Isolation of an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor from Olea europaea and Olea lancea}. This action was shown in general vasodilatory effects to be at least partially due to its ability to suppress the L-type calcium channel through both direct and indirect mechanisms. This resulted indirectly in vasodilation ^{9,10Reference 9Hassan Gilani et al. · 2005Blood pressure lowering effect of olive is mediated through calcium channel blockadeReference 10Scheffler et al. · 2008Olea europaea leaf extract exerts L-type Ca2+ channel antagonistic effects}.

Olive leaf was found to produce anti-atherosclerotic, anticholesterol, hypotensive and hypolipidemic action in animal studies ^{11Reference 11Wang et al. · 2008The anti-atherosclerotic effect of olive leaf extract is related to suppressed inflammatory response in rabbits with experimental atherosclerosis}.

Hypotensive

Olive leaf extract was shown to exhibit hypotensive activity after oral intake in several studies ^{2Reference 2Ribeiro et al. · 1986AnimalAcute antihypertensive effect in conscious rats produced by some medicinal plants used in the state of Sao Paulo}. This action was found to be at least partly due to the oleuropein content ^{3Reference 3Hansen et al. · 1996Isolation of an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor from Olea europaea and Olea lancea}.

Phytochemistry

The signature constituent of olive leaf is the secoiridoid oleuropein, which can reach 6–9% of the dry leaf and underpins the herb’s ACE-inhibitory and hypotensive activity. Its breakdown products and relatives — the phenol hydroxytyrosol and oleacein — and a set of flavonoids such as luteolin-7-glucoside round out the active profile ^{1,4,5,6,7,8Reference 1Bone · 2003A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs: Herbal formulations for the individual patientReference 4Petkov et al. · 1972Pharmacological analysis of the iridoid oleuropeinReference 5Zarzuelo et al. · 1991Vasodilator effect of olive leafReference 6Briante et al. · 2002Olea europaea L. leaf extract and derivatives: antioxidant propertiesReference 7Japón-Luján et al. · 2006Superheated liquid extraction of oleuropein and related biophenols from olive leavesReference 8Sato et al. · 2007Anti-hyperglycemic activity of a TGR5 agonist isolated from Olea europaea}.

Olive leaf contains iridoid glycosides (oleuropein 6-9%), flavonoids, elenolic acid, hydroxytyrosol, oleuropeoside, hydroxytyrosol, polyphenols (verbascoside, apigenin-7-glucoside, and luteolin-7-glucoside), triterpenes (including oleanolic acid), flavonoids (rutin, diosmin) ^{1,5,6,7,8Reference 1Bone · 2003A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs: Herbal formulations for the individual patientReference 5Zarzuelo et al. · 1991Vasodilator effect of olive leafReference 6Briante et al. · 2002Olea europaea L. leaf extract and derivatives: antioxidant propertiesReference 7Japón-Luján et al. · 2006Superheated liquid extraction of oleuropein and related biophenols from olive leavesReference 8Sato et al. · 2007Anti-hyperglycemic activity of a TGR5 agonist isolated from Olea europaea}.

Constituent Summary

Amounts are percent of the dried leaf and vary widely with cultivar, season and drying method; oleuropein is the standardisation marker ^{1,5,6,7,8Reference 1Bone · 2003A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs: Herbal formulations for the individual patientReference 5Zarzuelo et al. · 1991Vasodilator effect of olive leafReference 6Briante et al. · 2002Olea europaea L. leaf extract and derivatives: antioxidant propertiesReference 7Japón-Luján et al. · 2006Superheated liquid extraction of oleuropein and related biophenols from olive leavesReference 8Sato et al. · 2007Anti-hyperglycemic activity of a TGR5 agonist isolated from Olea europaea}.

Clinical Applications

Olive leaf’s cardiotonic, ACE inhibitory, hypotensive, and coronary artery vasodilating activities make it a great candidate for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. It has been shown to reduce arrhythmia, lower cholesterol levels, and slow or inhibit the formation of atherosclerotic arteries.

This is a very useful herb in long term applications for preventing and treating people who have experienced a myocardial infarct, angina, arrhythmia, or high cholesterol levels.

Cautions & Safety

Caution advised if taking cardiovascular medications due to the possibility of agonistic interaction.

Olive leaf extracts are generally very safe, even at high doses (1g/kg for 7 days) ^{12Reference 12Petkov et al. · 1972Pharmacological analysis of the iridoid oleuropein}.

References

1. Bone, K. (2003). A clinical guide to blending liquid herbs: Herbal formulations for the individual patient. Edinburgh.
2. Ribeiro, R. D. A., De Melo, M. M. R. F., De Barros, F., Gomes, C., & Trolin, G. (1986). Acute antihypertensive effect in conscious rats produced by some medicinal plants used in the state of Sao Paulo. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 15(3), 261-269.
3. Hansen, K., Adsersen, A., Christensen, S. B., Jensen, S. R., Nyman, U., & Smitt, U. W. (1996). Isolation of an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor from Olea europaea and Olea lancea. Phytomedicine, 2(4), 319-325.
4. Petkov, V., & Manolov, P. (1972). Pharmacological analysis of the iridoid oleuropein. Arzneimittel-Forschung, 22(9), 1476-1486.
5. Zarzuelo, A., Duarte, J., Jimenez, J., Gonzalez, M., & Utrilla, M. P. (1991). Vasodilator effect of olive leaf. Planta medica, 57(05), 417-419.
6. Briante, R., Patumi, M., Terenziani, S., Bismuto, E., Febbraio, F., & Nucci, R. (2002). Olea europaea L. leaf extract and derivatives: antioxidant properties. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 50(17), 4934-4940.
7. Japón-Luján, R., & de Castro, M. L. (2006). Superheated liquid extraction of oleuropein and related biophenols from olive leaves. Journal of Chromatography A, 1136(2), 185-191.
8. Sato, H., Genet, C., Strehle, A., Thomas, C., Lobstein, A., Wagner, A., … & Saladin, R. (2007). Anti-hyperglycemic activity of a TGR5 agonist isolated from Olea europaea. Biochemical and biophysical research communications, 362(4), 793-798.
9. Hassan Gilani, A., Khan, A. U., Jabbar Shah, A., Connor, J., & Jabeen, Q. (2005). Blood pressure lowering effect of olive is mediated through calcium channel blockade. International journal of food sciences and nutrition, 56(8), 613-620.
10. Scheffler, A., Rauwald, H. W., Kampa, B., Mann, U., Mohr, F. W., & Dhein, S. (2008). Olea europaea leaf extract exerts L-type Ca2+ channel antagonistic effects. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 120(2), 233-240.
11. Wang, L., Geng, C., Jiang, L., Gong, D., Liu, D., Yoshimura, H., & Zhong, L. (2008). The anti-atherosclerotic effect of olive leaf extract is related to suppressed inflammatory response in rabbits with experimental atherosclerosis. European journal of nutrition, 47(5), 235-243.
12. Petkov, V., & Manolov, P. (1972). Pharmacological analysis of the iridoid oleuropein. Arzneimittel-Forschung, 22(9), 1476-1486.