Also known as
Olea europaea, Italian Olive, and Olive.
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.
Apigenin, choline, cinchonine, luteolin, mannitol, olivin, tannins.
Dried leaves and leaf fragments.
Traditionally used as a tea, sometimes available in tea bags; also used with great success in extracts and capsules.
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.
Rebecca adds: From the March, 2009, issue of Alternative Medicine Review – "Natural antibiotics like olive leaf contain anti-fungal and anti-viral properties which may be the most effective means of combating many of today’s new strains of colds and flus… Olive leaf works for you to prevent subsequent viral or bacterial infection(s)… Olive leaf is a powerful weapon against the common cold and flu, including many strains of influenza and para-influenza viruses… Olive leaf interacts with the protein in cold and flu virus particles to halt infection..."
Olive leaf tea should be taken with meals. Safety of the herb during pregnancy has not been established.
This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
This information courtesy of MOUNTAIN ROSE HERBS, with full, written permission for reuse.