Holistic health and research on olive leaf extract

Sacramento's various holistic health food events, stores, and trends each year have focused on various extracts that have studies related to anti-microbial properties of olive leaf extract. Some studies discuss research on helping cold sores (herpes on the lip) and other studies focus on research aimed at helping to lower too-high blood pressure naturally without drugs, when drugs are not necessary. You can read many studies such as you'll find on the site, Olive Leaf Extract about the health effects researched using olive leaf extract and the leaves of olive trees.

All this research is available usually in online journals and studies that you can read on the health effects of olive leaf extracts in suggested amounts and ways to use them. How do you know the studies are validated and in credible journals? See the site, Olive Leaf Extract for a list of studies on the health effects and benefits researched.

Your first step is to find out who's writing and publishing in the field and which university is doing the research, who got the grants, and whether a university research center or a corporation is doing the studies. For example, the latest trend is to try olive leaf extract, and to 'clean' the liver, or possibly lower cholesterol somewhat with the extract of artichoke.

In the Sacramento and Davis regional areas, the University of California, Davis has studied the health effects of extracts of the olive leaf. See, some good research in the Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. They have several studies on the benefits of olives, olive oil and olive leaves. You can also find links to other useful periodicals and articles from that site.

Another great and interesting resource is the book “Olive Leaf Extract” by Dr. Morton Walker. Dr. Walker is a medical researcher and journalist. He cites lots of studies and gives plenty of useful information. Also, if you want to read the latest studies on phytotherapy, check out the journal, Phytotherapy Research.

You can obtain olive leaf extract at most Sacramento health food stores and natural food markets, for example at Elliot's Natural Foods in the Arden Arcade area of Sacramento. Also, you may want to read a wide variety of studies and articles on olive leaf extract used to lower high blood pressure, for example the August 26, 2008 news release based on a study of olive leaf extract, "Olive leaf extract can help tackle high blood pressure and cholesterol." There have been other studies such as, "A compound extracted from olives inhibits cancer cells growth and prevents their appearance."

One study reports that for some people taking 1000mg of a specific olive leaf extract (EFLA®943) perhaps can lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure in patients with mild hypertension (high blood pressure). These findings came from a 'Twins' trial, in which different treatments were given to identical twins. By doing this, researchers could increase the power of their data by eliminating some of the uncertainties caused by genetic variations between individual people.

The research is published in the September, 2008 edition of Phytotherapy Research. Check out the study at the primary source, "Food supplementation with an olive (Olea europaea L.) leaf extract reduces blood pressure in borderline hypertensive monozygotic twins (pages 1239–1242)." Also see the journal,Phytotherapy Research - All Issues - Wiley Online Library.

The issue here, is the study was done with borderline hypertensives. If you have high blood pressure increasing as you age is is not borderline any longer, will olive leaf extract still work to reduce your blood pressure without drugs if you have decided to step away from conventional medicine and find the root cause of your problem, perhaps a genetic variant in your kidneys or some other cause, for example toxic metals in your system or anger issues, stress, lifestyle, and diet?

Hypertension is one of the most common and important disease risk factors imposed by the modern lifestyle. Many people would therefore benefit from finding ways of reducing blood pressure. Experiments in rats had previously indicated that olive leaf extract could be one way of achieving this goal.

To test this in humans, researchers from Switzerland and Germany conducted a pilot trial with 20 identical (monozygotic) twin pairs who had an increased blood pressure. Individuals were either given placebo capsules or capsules containing doses of 500mg or 1000mg of olive leaf extract EFLA®943. Pairs of twins were assigned to different treatments. After the subjects had taken the extract for eight weeks researchers measured blood pressures as well as collecting data about aspects of life-style.

"The study confirmed that olive leaf extract EFLA®943 has antihypertensive properties in humans," says one of the co-authors, Cem Aydogan, General Manager, Frutarom Health. "This works showed that taking a 1000mg dose has substantial effects in people with borderline hypertension," says Aydogan.

Regarding cancer and how a compound in the leaf of the olive tree might help is research from the University of Granada that has revealed how maslinic acid, a compound present in the leaf and the olive skin wax extracted from alpeorujo (crushed olive pulp), has the capacity of preventing cancer as well as regulating apoptosis in carcinogenic processes.

Maslinic acid is a protease inhibitor that, among other features, has the capacity of regulating cell growth. It is useful for cancer treatment, as it allows to control the hyperplasia and hypertrophy processes, typical of this disease. The scientists of the UGR have characterized for the first time maslinic acid action from the molecular point of view when it is applied to the development of tumour cells.

This work has been carried out by Ph D student Fernando Jesús Reyes Zurita, and directed by Professor José Antonio Lupiáñez Cara, of the department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I. According to them, the advantages of maslinic acid are three: Unlike other anti-carcinogenic products, highly cytotoxic, it is a natural compound and, therefore, less toxic. In addition, it is selective, this is, it only acts on carcinogenic cells, whose pH is more acid than usual. And lastly, it has a preventive nature, as it can inhibit cancer appearance in those cells with a higher predisposition to develop it.

For all types of cancer, can olive leaf extract help if the medical studies show any results?

Although the research group of Professor Lupiáñez Cara has analysed the effect of maslinic acid in the treatment of colon cancer, it can be used in different types of tumours. For the moment, their research works have been developed in colon carcinoma lines and transgenic mice, but they have not dismissed the possibility of applying them to humans in future.

Maslinic acid is a pentacyclic terpene which, besides being anti-carcinogenic, it has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and can be found in high concentrations in olive skin wax. At present, the only production plant of this substance at a semi-industrial level in the whole world is at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Granada.

So check out these studies. Scientists spend time trying to fiind flaws in studies, and when they can't find flaws, the research continues. And sometimes the research continues if a flaw is found and corrected in the next study. So when Sacramento reaches for the next plant extract, at least there are studies online to read to talk with your health care team about or to sample. The results are one reason why some nutritionists are interested in ethnobotany research.

About olive leaf extract: for thousands of years, tea brewed from the leaves of certain species of olive trees have been used as folk medicine in those nations where olive trees grow naturally. In modern times, at last scientists are studying folkloric herbal remedies such as the extracts of olive leafs and the extracts of artichokes.

At least in Sacramento, the use of these extracts is growing more popular as mainstream TV shows present more research in plain language in the news and in the health-related programs. For example, the April 4, 2011 Dr. Oz TV show covered research findings in plain English on artichoke extract. See, Herbal Healers: Artichoke Extract, Pt 1. | The Dr. Oz Show. Also see the article, Olive Leaf Extract.

Does olive leaf extract kill the good bacteria with the bad? According to the article, " Olive Leaf Extract," the problem with using olive leaf extract in the body was that once in the blood, a protein combined with it and caused it to be inactivated. An American company in 1995 found that if the active molecule in olive leaf extract was rotated around a specific axis by a precise amount, the blood protein no longer inactivated it.

So once the blood protein no longer inactivated olive leaf extract, it then could effectively eliminate or control a very broad range of microorganisms and associated conditions in the body. The list of microbial-related illnesses olive leaf is said to help include the following: herpes, Epstein Barr (and cytomegalo viruses), chlamydia, cholera, hepatitis (A, B, and C), malaria, measles, meningitis, rabies, tapeworm, salmonella, tuberculosis, staphylococcus, polio, vaginitis, thrush, strep throat, whooping cough, pneumonia, ringworm, bacillus cereus, and several others, according to the article, "Olive Leaf Extract." But what do scientists report regarding actual funded research on olive leaf extracts?

Research emphasize that olive leaf extract products without this unique molecular rotation are minimally effective in the body because they are inactivated by a blood protein after a short period of time (approximately 15 minutes). But the actual research studies report that "olive leaf extract has been shown to lower blood pressure, cause dilation of coronary arteries, reduce atrial fibrillation, and possess antioxidant capacity," according to the article, "Olive Leaf Extract."

Numerous shoppers using olive leaf extract report higher energy levels when using olive leaf extract. Is it real or a placebo effect? Most doctors might tell you that since no long-term studies have been done on the effects of olive leaf extract then don't take it every day. Take it every few days and take a week off, at least. You really don't know the long-term effects yet of this in your body.

On the other hand, the short-term research reports that it has "shown to be extremely safe and non-toxic (even in large doses)." To be on the safe side, check out the reports, and read the book, Olive Leaf Extract, by Dr. Morton Walker for further information on its effectiveness and full range of applications. See the book, Amazon.com: Olive Leaf Extract Morton Walker: Books.

Research on olive leaf extract and helping cold sores to heal: Check out the studies

Winter is frequently when cold sores break out on the lips, usually due to a herpes infection that keeps coming back. But can olive leaf extract help? You may want to check out the website on research done with cold sores (herpes) and the effects of olive leaf extract at the website, East Park Research, Inc.

According to the site, d-Lenolate® Studies and Research you can look at some of the studies. For example, the website notes that several significant studies have been made and published documenting the powerful correlation of both Olive Leaf Extract and specifically d-Lenolate® to a myriad of life threatening viral and bacterial diseases.

The following are studies and research of highly defining studies that document in two distinct methodologies the effectiveness and efficacy of d-Lenolate®. Check out all the links on that website and explore all the research online you can find on olive leaf extract and many of its anti-microbial properties. You also can sign up for the company's newsletter.

Studies and research article links listed at the East Park Research, Inc. website:

Immune Building

The purpose of this study was to test the immune effects of d-Lenolate® in healthy volunteers at the Department of Cytogenetics and Immunology of NICS. This study examines the effect of 21 days of d-Lenolate® treatment on the immune parameters of healthy volunteers.

Study: The effect of d-Lenolate® on the Immune Parameters in Humans

Findings: d-Lenolate® showed a potential immune building response along with the ability to fight off weak, solid, and strong bacterial stimuli.

Herpes Simplex I

East Park Research, in a coordinated effort with one of the foremost research Universities in the world, has been testing its Topical for the past two years on various skin conditions to determine its efficacy in a scientific clinical environment.

Study: d-Lenolate®, Aloe, and Neem Tissue Culture Experiments

Findings: It was shown at the conclusion of this first phase of testing that Oleuropein has a direct improving effect on cold sores, also known as Type I Herpes. It was shown to assist in the healing of human tissue where Herpes symptoms are present.

The findings, using tissue cultures and Herpes Simplex Type I, were so positive in fact that East Park Research was encouraged to develop a safe and effective cream product for cold sores associated with Herpes Simplex I (HSV1), Deleve®. One of the most important findings was the proper concentration of each ingredient to make the most effective anti-viral solution. The inhibition of spreading is one of the very exciting properties of this final formulation.

Safety Testing

The cold sore formulation containing d-Lenolate® was evaluated for its safety in animals. There were no toxic effects observed.

Study: LSU Safety Report

Findings: The treated skin remained clear of inflammation and redness and all animals appeared normal throughout the duration of the study.

In Vitro HSV-1 Testing

d-Lenolate® was evaluated as an antiviral for effectiveness in treating herpes infections.

Study: In Vitro Anti-HSV-1 Activities of d-Lenolate® at Different Concentrations

Findings: Treatment of mice infected with virulent human strain of herpes simplex virus type-I (HSV-1) with formulation containing a higher concentration of d-Lenolate® and other compounds resulted in highly significant protection of mice against all disease outcomes including substantial decrease in animals with herpes symptoms.

Resources on olive leaf extract research studies

Olive Leaf Tea - Georgia Olive Growers Association Download Read Related

Olive Leaf Tea - Mark Hanly MD Introduction

Olive Leaf Reprint Download Read Related

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients - Effect of Olive Leaf Extracts on the Growth and Metabolism of TWD B Download Read Related

Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 9 (8): 787-793, 2010 ISSN 1680-5194 © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2010 787 Effect of Olive Leaf Extracts on the Growth - Download Read Related

Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Effects of Hydroxytyrosol and 2 Oleuropein from Olive Leaves in Alloxan-Diabetic Rats. Download Read Related