Oleuropein is the active ingredient found in green olives and olive leaf. Olive leaf extracts; are made from the fresh or dried leaves of the same plant species that produces olive fruit and olive oil. The effectiveness of olive leaf extract depends largely on the rate of oleuropein. Oleuropein and its metabolite hydroxytyrosol have powerful antioxidant activity in vivo and in vitro. In addition, the compounds leine, oleasterol and glycoside oleoside reside within the olive leaf.
The oleuropein in olive leaf is a natural wide-spectrum antibiotic, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal. It has proven to be useful in cases of yeast and fungal infections, herpes, allergies, psoriasis, chronic fatigue, and many other pathogens. In 1962 an Italian researcher recorded that oleuropein had the effect to lower blood pressure in animals. another researchers validated that claim and also found it to increase blood flow in the coronary arteries, relieve arrhythmia.
Olive leaf extract contains extremely potent antioxidant. The main phytochemicals for this antioxidant action are oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol. Free radicals are highly reactive chemical substances that, when oxidized, can cause cellular damage. Antioxidants are capable of slowing and preventing the oxidation of molecules in the body. Experts discovered, in an study, that olive leaf extract contained twice the antioxidants of green tea extract and 400 % higher than Vitamin C. Olive leaf extract provides nutritional support for detoxification at the cellular level, when the body is under stress.
In 1969, Upjohn company’s researchers found that olive leaf inhibits the growth of every virus, bacterium, yeast, fungus, and protozoan that it was tested against. The virucidal activity of oleuropein was due to its interaction with the protein coat of the virus and not with its genetic material. Olive leaf extract is thought to be effective in helping the body to routinely combat numerous pathogens as well as help restore a flagging immune system. At the “Robert Lyons Clinic” of Budapest, a research study was done on 500 people from the ages of 12 to over 50 for the some diseases: Respiratory conditions; lung diseases; dental diseases; skin conditions such as herpes and other viral skin conditions; bacterial skin infections and Helicobacter pylori infection. The rate of recovery from all bacterial and viral infections was 98 percent.
Other agent contained in oleuropein is elenolic acid. This ingredient is particularly effective in maintaining the body’s immune system. Studies have found that elenolic acid helps the body to balance levels of friendly bacteria and support the immune system. Oleuropein is converted into elenolic acid in the body which may prevent viruses and bacteria from replicating. According to lab experiments, calcium elenolate kills viruses by interfering with certain amino acid production processes. This intervention prevents virus shedding, budding or assembly at the cell membrane. researches suggest that this compound has the ability to penetrate infected host cells and irreversibly inhibit viral replication. Anti-HIV effects of Olive leaf extract include upregulation of the expression of apoptosis inhibitor proteins as well as protein kinase signaling molecules. A study in published 2003 issue of Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications concluded that olive leaf extract might inhibit the spread of the HIV-1 virus by preventing cell-to-cell transmission. In a study, olive leaf extract helped to prevent the adherence of the hemorrhagic septicaemia virus to normal healthy cells, and reduced the infectivity of the virus by up to 30%. This study “Antiviral Research” was published in the journal.
In-vitro studies have shown that oleuropein is non-toxic antioxidant with potent anti-tumor property. When oleuropein was administered orally to mice that had developed tumors, it regressed the tumors in 9 to 12 days. In an experiment, oleuropein irreversibly rounded cancer cells, preventing their replication, motility, and invasiveness; these effects were reversible in normal cells. When administered orally to mice that developed spontaneous tumors, oleuropein completely regressed tumors in 9-12 days. This experiment; reported by Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. An extract from olive leaf, arrested growth in a tissue culture of human breast cancer cells at an early stage in the growth cycle. (Food and Chemical Toxicology – January 2011)
Serious problem with bacteria is that they mutate. Antibiyotik drugs which were once highly effective become ineffective as bacteria mutate and develop a resistance to them. Olive leaf one of nature’s best antimicrobial agents. Researches shows that when olive leaf is taken orally, it searches out and “inactivates” bacteria. It does this by dissolving the outer lining of the infectious germs and then penetrates the infected cells, thus inhibiting the replication of the bacteria. In one study, compounds isolated from olive leaf inhibited the growth of many bacterial and fungal strains; Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus. In a study conducted in 2003 the effect of olive leaf extract was tested on the candida fungus. Within 24 hours the candida microorganisms died.
Olive leaf extract can be taken as liquid concentrate, dried leaf tea, powder, or capsule. Olive leaf is available as a dried extract containing 6 to 15 percent oleuropein. Dosages recommended by health care professionals include one or two capsules totaling 500 mg daily for preventive purposes. For flu or colds, take two capsules every 6 hours; and for acute infections, take three or four capsules every 6 hours for rapid results.
Oleuropein Side Effects
Concomitant use of olive leaf extract blood pressure-lowering or diabetes medications should be avoided. Don’t use olive leaf extracts if you are pregnant or breast feeding. People taking olive leaf extract for the first time may experience the “die-off” effect. This is a reaction to the detoxification process as the body attempts to flush itself of toxins. Reactions include fatigue, diarrhea, headaches or flu-like symptoms. Severity differs also from person to person, depending on the extent of infection.