Olive Leaf Extract Shows Heart-Health Benefits
Dr. Lee Swanson
Extracts from olive leaves may help reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, according to a small study in Switzerland.
Using identical twins with increased blood pressure, researchers report that a daily supplement of olive leaf extract (1,000 mg) reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 11 and 5 mmHg, respectively, over eight weeks.
Cholesterol levels were also reduced in the twin receiving the olive leaf extract, according to findings published in the journal Phytotherapy Research.
The researchers, led by Tania Perrinjaquet-Moccetti, recruited 20 pairs of identical twins with borderline hypertension. The twins from each pair were assigned to either placebo capsules or capsules containing 500 mg or 1,000 mg of olive leaf extract. By using identical twin pairs the researchers sought to eliminate some of the uncertainties caused by genetic variations between individual people.
At the end of the eight-week intervention, the researchers reported a significant reduction in blood pressure in the twin receiving the high-dose supplement, compared to the placebo. In twin pairs where one received the lower dose olive leaf supplement, no significant changes were observed in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, compared to their baseline levels.
A dose-dependent effect for the reduction of cholesterol levels was also observed within pairs of twins for LDL cholesterol, but all the groups experienced reduction in cholesterol, researchers noted.
The researchers indicated that a compound called oleuropein may be responsible for some of the benefits observed, noting that it, and other polyphenolic compounds in olive plants, can act as antioxidants and scavenge free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS).
“These antioxidant properties may not only contribute to the antihypertensive action, but were also suggested to be responsible for the hypercholesterolemic effect, referring to decreases of LDL and VLDL cholesterol,” they stated.
Phytotherapy Research 22(9):1239-1242, 2008
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