Olive leaf (Olea european)

Unexpected Benefits of Olive Leaf Extract

Scientists have isolated the unique molecule that provides olive oil with its multitude of health and life-extending benefits. Known as oleuropein, it is the polyphenol that can help lower bad cholesterol and blood pressure, prevent cancer, protect against oxidative damage, and help guard against cognitive decline.1,2 Oleuropein provides the distinctive tangy, pungent, almost bitter flavor found in high quality extra virgin olive oils.2 It’s also responsible for most of olive oil’s antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and disease-fighting characteristics.2-4 In fact, when oleuropein was given to animals with tumors, the tumors completely regressed and disappeared in 9 to 12 days!5

The olive tree (Olea european)  produces oleuropein abundantly in its leaves as well as in the olive fruit itself, and special processing techniques now allow for the extraction of a stable, standardized form of oleuropein. That means that consumers can have access to one of the most beneficial components of olive oil without the necessity of consuming excessive amounts of olive oil.