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 of Olive Leaf
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. [1].
Herb Details: Olive Leaf
Herbal Actions:
- Hypotensive
- Antioxidant
- Bitter Tonic
- Antiviral
- Cardiotonic
- ACE Inhibitor
- Coronary vasodilator
- Hypocholesterolemic
- Hypolipidemic
Weekly Dose
- (1:2 Liquid Extract)
25-50 mL - View Dosage Chart
Part Used
- Leaves
Family Name
- Oleaceae
Distribution
- The Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern Regions
Constituents of Interest
- Iridoid glycosides
- Flavonoids
- Elanoic acid
- Caffeic acid
Common Names
- Olive Leaf
- Ullir
- Zeytun
- Olea
- Oliva
- Oliba
CYP450
Unknown
Pregnancy
No adverse effects expected.
Duration of Use
- Long term use of this herb is acceptable.
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 [4].
+ 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, 3]. 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, 10].
Olive leaf was found to produce anti-atherosclerotic, anticholesterol, hypotensive and hypolipidemic action in animal studies [11].
+ Hypotensive
Olive leaf extract was shown to exhibit hypotensive activity after oral intake in several studies [2]. This action was found to be at least partly due to the oleuropein content [3].
Phytochemistry
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 oleanic acid), flavonoids (rutin, diosmin) [1, 5-8].
Clinical Applications Of Olive Leaf:
Olive leafs cardiotonic, ACE inhibitory, hypotensive, and coronary artery vasodilating activities makes 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 Information
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) [12].
Recent Blog Posts:
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.
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, we’re getting a lot of questions on what the potential role of herbal medicine is during the outbreak. Learn how the virus works and how to limit your chances of transmission.