Olive Leaf Extract by Designs For Health (DFH) 

Benefits of Olive Leaf Extract Include:

• Fungal Nail Infections
• Infections, Colds, Flus
• Resistance to Microbial Infections
• Cholesterol
• Heart Disease
• Antioxidant Power
• Anti-Diabetic Properties
• Anti-Bacterial Properties
• Wound Healing
• Anti-Viral
• Chronic Fatigue
• AIDs/HIV

Read Customer questions and answers about Immune Support in our FAQ.

Nature’s Protector from Infection

The olive tree has been studied for centuries, and over the years many medicinal benefits have been attributed to it. Olive oil, buds, leaves, and roots have all been used medicinally, but olive leaf extract is of exceptional interest. A bitter substance in the extract was found and named oleuropein. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the benefits of oleuropein. In 1962, an Italian researcher discovered that oleuropein lowered blood pressure in animals.[8] Other European researchers confirmed this finding. In addition, they found it could also increase blood flow in the coronary arteries2, relieve arrhythmias, and prevent intestinal muscle spasms. In 1969, a Dutch researcher determined the active ingredient in oleuropein to be a substance called elenolic acid. Elenolic acid was found to have powerful anti-bacterial properties.[10] By the late 1960's, research by scientists at Upjohn showed that elenolic acid also slowed the growth of viruses. It was found to inhibit a variety of viruses associated with the common cold in humans. Further, a number of research studies at this time showed that calcium elenolate, a salt of elenolic acid, had a strong effect not just on viruses, but bacteria and parasitic protozoans as well.[11]

Due to olive leaf's anti-viral properties, it has been found to be beneficial in the treatment of conditions caused by, or associated with a virus, retrovirus, bacterium, or protozoan. Such conditions include influenza, the common cold, meningitis, Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), encephalitis, herpes I and II, human herpes virus 6 and 7, shingles, HIV/ARC/AIDS, chronic fatigue, hepatitis B, pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, dengue, bacteremia, severe diarrhea, blood poisoning, and dental, ear, urinary tract and surgical infections.

Recent studies have also shown that olive leaves, when stored in closed plastic bags at a specific temperature and for a designated time, were found to have increased antioxidant levels. The antioxidant that can be isolated is called 3,4 dihydroxyphenylethy 4-formyl-3-formylmethyl-4-hexenoate (3,4-DHPEA-EDA).[12] This antioxidant is comparable to alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E). Phenolated compounds have also been found in the olive leaf and bud. These compounds include oleuropein and flavonoids such as rutin flavonol.[13] These are both potent antioxidant compounds. Flavonoids inhibit LDL oxidation7 and oleuropein has antimicrobial properties.

Fungal and yeast infections are included in the wide spectrum of conditions aided with olive leaf extract. It has been said that more than 10 million Americans have disfiguring fungal nail infections, a widely ignored medical problem. Fungal infections are frequently found among patients with AIDS, cancer and diabetes, athletes, the elderly, people who spend considerable time standing or who wear the same shoes day after day, or those who wear artificial fingernails. Drugs taken for cancer and AIDS lower resistance and are believed to make people more susceptible to fungal infections. Olive leaf extract may offer a natural and less expensive method of treatment for these infections.

The routine dosage is one capsule every six hours. The supplement should be taken between meals for best results. In the case of bad colds or flu, the dosage may be increased to two capsules every six hours. For acute infections, some individuals have taken more -- three or four every six hours -- and reported rapid relief. For healthy individuals seeking more energy or the preventative benefits of olive leaf extract, one or two capsules a day is suggested.

Wound Healing
Historically, medicinal use of olive leaf has been for treatment of fevers and for the topical treatment of wounds or infection. As a poultice, it was also used by herbalists to treat skin rashes and boils. [1]

Heart Health
Olive leaf has a wide number of constituents, including oleuropein and several types of flavonoids (e.g., rutin, apigenin, luteolin). [2] While olive leaf is traditionally associated with a wide number of medicinal claims, few of these have been verified by experimental study. In an animal study oleuropein (when given by injection or in IV form) was found to decrease blood pressure (e.g., systolic and diastolic) and dilate the coronary arteries surrounding the heart. [3] This ability to lower blood pressure may justify the traditional use of olive leaf in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension. [4] However, human studies are needed to clearly establish olive leaf as a potential treatment for high blood pressure. [13]

Cholesterol
In addition, an in vitro study has revealed that oleuropein inhibits the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. LDL oxidation is one part in a series of damaging events that, if left unchecked, can lead to the development of atherosclerosis. [5] This action may provide one clue as to why those consuming a Mediterranean-based diet may lower their risk of developing atherosclerosis. [14]

Antibacterial
Oleuropein from olives may also have antibacterial properties. When unheated olives are brined to preserve them, oleuropein is converted into another chemical called elenolic acid. Elenolic acid has shown antibacterial actions against several species of Lactobacilli and Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilus in an in vitro study. [6] Whether or not the oleuropein in the leaf undergoes such a transformation is open to question at this point, raising some question as to its antibacterial effects and potential use for this purpose in humans.

Blood Sugar
Olive leaf extracts have been employed experimentally to lower elevated blood-sugar levels in animals with diabetes. [7] These results have not been reproduced in human clinical trials and as such, no clear conclusions can be made from this animal study in the treatment of diabetes.

Possible Treatment For AIDS
Olive Leaf Extract
Julie Roach and Julie Kreloff, M.S., R.D.

Researchers are now trying to see if olive leaf extract can benefit AIDS patients. Research shows that it inhibits the production of both reverse transcriptase and protease, enzymes necessary for the survival of HIV.

Anti-Viral, and Anti-Retroviral
Olive Leaf Extract
Julie Roach and Julie Kreloff, M.S., R.D.

Olive leaf extract has been found to be an extremely effective anti-viral, anti-retroviral, and bactericidal substance. Research suggests that a number of mechanisms are involved. These mechanisms include:

• A critical interference with certain amino acids that are essential for the vitality of viruses.
• Interference with the viral infection and/or the spread of the virus by inactivation, or by preventing virus shedding, budding or assembly at the cell membrane.
• The ability to directly penetrate infected host cells and inhibit viral replication.
• In the case of retro viruses, it neutralizes the production of reverse transcriptase and protease.
• Stimulates phagocytosis ( the process of engulfment and destruction of particulate matter by phagocytic cells such a macrophages and neutrophils).