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Olive leaf

The olive is the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europea L.) which belongs to the Oleaceae family. Apart from water, oil, carbohydrates and proteins, the olive contains numerous minerals, particularly calcium, several organic acids and vitamins A, B1, B2. Olive oil, extracted from the pulp of the olive, is constituted essentially by glycerides of oleic acid (70%) and of other acids in a lesser proportion, such as those of linoleic, palmitic, linolenic and arachidonic acid, and is usually employed in cookery. Olive leaves contain bioactive plant substances which reduce blood pressure. Olive leaves are used in the form of a decoction, a tincture, or dry extract as a preparation which reduces blood pressure. The active preparations are bitterns with a blood pressure-reducing action which as oleuropein, an ester glycoside with secoiridoid base structure which is soluble in water. The secoiridoids are found mainly in olive tree plants (Oleaceae) and gentian plants (Gentianaceae).  The specific phenolic compounds in olive oil and other olive plant parts have been found to have a marked antiedematous effect and to inhibit the enzyme myeloperoxidase, with oleuropein having the greatest inhibitory activity. Oleuropein has been shown to have cytotoxic effects on tumor cell lines, and to inhibit or delay the rate of growth of a range of bacteria and microfungi, including pathogens such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus, and Haemophilus influenzae. Olive leaf has been historically used as a remedy for treating fevers and malaria. Several reports have shown that olive plant has the capacity to lower the blood pressure in animals and increase the blood flow in coronary arteries, relieve arrhythmia, and prevent intestinal muscle spasms. Olive leaf extract is used against high blood pressure, angina pectoris, to prevent general blood vessel sclerosis and to increase urine excretion by the kidneys. Oleuropein acts to an antispasmodic and reduces both the systolic and also the diastolic blood pressure. Certain biophenolic molecules in olive oil inhibit pro-oxidative processes, which is the primary reason for the stability of virgin olive oil, and these compounds also increased the ability of human low density lipoprotein (LDL) to resist oxidation and reduced the plasma levels of total, free and ester cholesterol.

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