Also known as- Olea europaea, Italian Olive, and Olive.
Introduction: The olive is a small evergreen tree native to Mediterranean regions, but naturalized to climates as varied as those of Australia, California, and Texas. The well-known green to blue-black fruit of this tree yields a useful, edible oil. Both the oil and the dried green-grayish colored leaves are used in herbal medicine.
Constituents: Apigenin, choline, cinchonine, luteolin, mannitol, olivin, tannins.
Parts Used: Dried leaves and leaf fragments.
Typical Preparations: Traditionally used as a tea, sometimes available in tea bags; also used with great success in extracts and capsules.
Summary: Olive leaf teas have been used for thousands of years to lower fevers, and olive leaf poultices are among the oldest therapies for infections of the skin. Olive leaf is associated with a variety of modern medical claims, some of them backed up with scientific evidence:
* Antibacterial effects. Elenoic acid from olives is known to be antibacterial (killing both infectious and helpful bacteria), but the elenoic acid in olive leaf may be broken down in the process of making the tea. Olive leaf poultices may heal skin by encouraging circulation rather than by killing bacteria.
* Cardiovascular effects. Oleuropein in olive leaf and in olives may prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidizing into a form that can form atherosclerotic plaques. The chemical also lowers blood pressure, although only slightly (3 to 8 mm/Hg after 3 to 4 weeks use).
* Diabetes. Olive leaf extracts have been shown in laboratory studies to lower blood sugars, but their use in treating diabetes in humans is not well documented.
Precautions: Olive leaf tea should be taken with meals. Safety of the herb during pregnancy has not been established.
