High Blood Pressure / Hypertension and Herbs � Olive

Olive - to Lower High Blood Pressure / Hypertension

Scientific name: Olea europa

Part used: leaf extract

Constituent that helps lower high blood pressure: Oleuropein in the leaf and its metabolite hydroxytyrosol.

Olive leaf extract has been used since ancient times for treating various ailments in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. The extract is believed to lower hypertension, improve blood circulation, and reduce 'bad' cholesterol. The oleuropein opens up the arteries and allows more blood to pass through, thus, lowering the blood pressure. Again, the anti-oxidants in olive leaf help protect the cardiovascular system from free radical damage.

Blood pressure lowering effect of olive leaf extract has been confirmed by various research studies.

A study from Cairo University found that a dose of 100 mg/kg of extract for a period of eight weeks normalized blood pressure in experimental animals. Similarly, the isolate of olive leaf containing 0.71 percent of oleanolic acid in a dose of 60 mg/kg of body weight for six weeks was found to prevent the development of severe hypertension and atherosclerosis in experimental animals.

Dose: 1000 mg of olive leaf extract per day.

Side effects: No serious side effects reported till now. However, higher doses may cause increased fatigue, flu-like symptoms, body ache, or diarrhea.

References:

1. Khayyal MT, el-Ghazaly MA, Abdallah DM, Nassar NN, Okpanyi SN, Kreuter MH. Blood pressure lowering effect of an olive leaf extract (Olea europaea) in L-NAME induced hypertension in rats. Arzneimittelforschung. 2002;52(11):797-802.
2. Nammi S, Gudavalli R, Babu BS, Lodagala DS, Boini KM. Possible mechanisms of hypotension produced 70% alcoholic extract of Terminalia arjuna (L.) in anaesthetized dogs. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2003 Oct 16;3:5.
3. Parmar HS, Panda S, Jatwa R, Kar A. Cardio/protective role of Terminalia arjuna bark extract is possibly mediated through alterations in thyroid hormones. Pharmazie. 2006 Sep;61(9):793/5.
4. Ried K, Frank OR, Stocks NP, Fakler P, Sullivan T. Effect of garlic on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2008 Jun 16;8:13.
5. Shamon SD, Perez MI. Blood pressure lowering efficacy of reserpine for primary hypertension. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD007655. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007655.pub2.
6. Somova LI, Shode FO, Ramnanan P, Nadar A. Antihypertensive, antiatherosclerotic and antioxidant activity of triterpenoids isolated from Olea europaea, subspecies africana leaves. J Ethnopharmacol. 2003 Feb;84(2-3):299-305.
7. Turner B, M�lgaard C, Marckmann P. Effect of garlic (Allium sativum) powder tablets on serum lipids, blood pressure and arterial stiffness in normo-lipidaemic volunteers: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Br J Nutr. 2004 Oct;92(4):701-6.
8. About High Blood Pressure - (http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/about.htm)