Herbs

Olive leaves benefits

December 8, 2019

Introduction

The leaves of the olive trees (Olea europaea L.) have been widely used for the treatment of different diseases and food preservation in the European and Mediterranean cultures. The olive leaves benefits are because of high phenolic compounds specifically oleuropein which has various medicinal properties (1). Therefore, it is used in the human diet as an extract, an herbal tea, capsule, and a powder.

Geographical distribution

The olive tree found in European and Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Israel, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Constituents of Olive leaves

Olive leaves are important for their secondary metabolites such as oleuropein (OLP), verbascoside, apigenin-7-glucoside (Api7G), luteolin-7-glucoside (Lut7G), hydroxytyrosol (HT), and tyrosol (Phenolic compound) which can constitute up to 6-9% of dry matter in the leaves (2). Other bioactive components found in olive leaves include related secoiridoids, flavonoids, and triterpenes (3).

Phenolic Compounds	Amount %
Oleuropein	24.54
Hydroxytyrosol	1.46
Luteolin-7-glucoside	1.38
Apigenin-7-glucoside	1.37
Verbascoside	1.11
Tyrosol	0.71
Vanillic acid	0.63
Diosmetin-7-glucoside	0.54
Caffeic acid	0.34
Luteolin	0.21
Rutin	0.05
Diosmetin	0.05
Vanillin	0.05
Catechin	0.04

Olive leaves benefits

Olive leaf extract contains various pharmaceutical properties like antioxidant, hypoglycemic, antihypertensive, antiarrhythmic and antiatherosclerotic effects, besides antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory activities. Let’s take a closer look at some of these proven health benefits below.

1. Olive leaf tea is better than green tea

Olive leaf tea increase RBC count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit thus olive leaf tea prevents and cures anemia and other red cell disorders (4).

2. Olive leaves are rich in polyphenol

The presence of phenolic compound oleuropein in olive leaves has antimicrobial, antitumor, anti-inflammatory antihypertensive, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic and cardioprotective properties as well as treats obesity (5).

Furthermore, olive leaf shows much more antioxidant activity than the fruit thus olive leaf extract has a rich cheap source and good bioavailability are useful in the various medical and health care application (6).

3. Antimicrobial properties of olive leaves

It contains caffeic acid, verbascoside, oleuropein, luteolin 7-O-glucoside, rutin, apigenin 7-O-glucoside and luteolin 4′-O-glucoside which fight against several microorganisms that may be causal agents of human intestinal and respiratory tract infections (7).

Olive leaf extract is beneficial to inhibit the growth of various bacteria such as Campylobacter jejuni, Helicobacter pylori, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis and Klebsiella pneumonia (8).

Olive leaf also fights against dermatophytes like Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum canis, and T. rubrum as well as fungi Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans (9).

4. Antidiabetic properties of olive leaves extract

Olive leaf contains oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol which is able to decrease the serum glucose level (10). Therefore, olive leaf polyphenols for 12 weeks is very helpful to prevent hyperglycemia and oxidative stress induced by diabetes (11).

Hyperglycemia causes many complications such as impaired male fertility. Taking olive leaf extract (250 and 500 mg/kg) increases the serum levels of insulin, testosterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Therefore, olive leaves protect against diabetes-induced reproductive disorders and normalize testicular steroidogenesis (12).

5. Treat hypertension

Triterpenoids mainly oleanolic acid and ursolic acid (oleuafricein) obtained from the olive leaves prevent the development of severe hypertension and atherosclerosis (13).

Olive leaf extract contains has a higher antioxidative capacity and higher reducing ability than vitamin C and E thus reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by improvement in carotid and renal arteries through regulation of blood flow (14). Thus, olive leaf extract decreases blood pressure and heart contractility and thus exhibits the vasodilatative and hypotensive effects.

6. Protects skin from UV radiation

Oleuropein present in olive leaves protects skin from UV radiation damages like decrease skin thickness and increases skin elasticity thus protect against skin cancer (15).

7. Treats brain injury

Olive leaf extract reduces inflammation, stress oxidative injury in the brain and improves ischemic tolerance (16). Oleuropein helps in protecting cell damage. Thus olive leaf extract has anti-oxidative, neuroprotective and anti-apoptotic properties for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (17).

8. Treats kidney injury

Olive leaf extract contains a rich amount of antioxidants like polyphenols and other bioactive compounds that help the kidney to recover from damage caused by several heavy toxic metals like cadmium (18).

9. Lower cholesterol level

Olive leaf extract contains a good amount of hydroxytyrosol and triacetylated hydroxytyrosol which decreases total cholesterol, total glycerol, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and increase high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in serum, therefore, prevent lipid peroxidation of high-fat diet-induced hypercholesterolemia (19).

10. Anti-HIV and anti- HSV properties

Olive leaf extract shows antiviral activity against HIV-1 infection and replication by inhibits acute infection and cell-to-cell transmission of HIV-1 (20). Moreover, oleuropein found in olive leaf extract which shows a wonderful antiviral effect against Herpes simplex viruses (21).

11. Anticancer properties

Research study proved that olive leaf extract contains a high amount of oleuropein, hydroxytyrosol, phenols and flavonoids than olive oil (22). These bioactive compounds show a wonderful effect on inhibition of progression and development of various cancers such as colon, hepatoma, human breast adenocarcinoma cell, human urinary bladder carcinoma, melanoma, pancreatic and bovine brain capillary endothelial cell (23).

12. Enhance self-life of Raw Halal Minced Beef

Application of olive leaves extracts (5%) on raw Halal minced beef shows higher antimicrobial and antioxidant effects increase shelf-life and stability of Beef (24).

13. Boost immune system

Oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol found in olive leaf have antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which play an important role in the treatment of upper respiratory illness in athletes. Therefore daily supplementation of olive leaves extracts for nine weeks during their competitive season reduces the risk of sick days by 28 % (25).

14. Treats obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Intake of olive polyphenols or related products like rutin, luteolin, caffeic acid and apigenin from the olive leaf is helpful to reduce body weight and visceral fat or slow down weight gain of the liver, and adipose tissue mass (26). Moreover, the consumption of olive leaf polyphenols also improves insulin sensitivity and pancreatic β-cell secretory capacity in overweight middle-aged men at risk of developing the metabolic syndrome (27).

15. Treat Gout

A gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis due to the high levels of uric acid in the blood, however, olive leaf extract contains phenolic secoiridoid oleuropein, caffeic acid, and luteolin which inhibit the gout-related enzyme xanthine oxidase (28). Furthermore, olive leaf extract has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory actions that are beneficial for the treatment of osteoarthritis and gout disease in humans (29).

16. Treat the infection

Leaves of olive are also useful to treat various infections such as gingivitis, otitis, icterus, and cough. Moreover, olive leaf extracts also useful as an ointment to treat eye infections or as a mouthwash to relieve sore throat (30).

Olive leaf	Health benefits
dried leaves orally	Diarrhea, respiratory, and urinary tract infections
Boiled extract of fresh leaves/taken orally	To treat hypertension
Infusion of leaves/oral use	Anti-inflammatory, tonic
Leaf preparations	To treat gout
Leaves extract applied	Antibacterial
Decoction of leaves	Antidiabetic, antihypertensive
Fruits and leaves	Hemorrhoids, rheumatism, and vasodilator
Infusions of leaves	Eye infections treatment
Hot water extract of leaf taken orally	To treat asthma

Edited By: Dr. Asha Jyoti Bharati

Olive leaves benefits

Introduction

Geographical distribution

Constituents of Olive leaves

Olive leaves benefits

1. Olive leaf tea is better than green tea

2. Olive leaves are rich in polyphenol

3. Antimicrobial properties of olive leaves

4. Antidiabetic properties of olive leaves extract

5. Treat hypertension

6. Protects skin from UV radiation

7. Treats brain injury

8. Treats kidney injury

9. Lower cholesterol level

10. Anti-HIV and anti- HSV properties

11. Anticancer properties

12. Enhance self-life of Raw Halal Minced Beef

13. Boost immune system

14. Treats obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

15. Treat Gout

16. Treat the infection

References

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