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Whenever I think of olive trees, I imagine myself walking through olive groves in Israel or another Mediterranean country. Olives are extensively spoken about in the Bible—from oil to food. But olives and olive leaves are incredibly medicinal. Could it be that God knew what He was doing when He made olives and olive oil so sought after in ancient times?
There are many different medicinal uses for olive leaf (Olea europaea L.), especially. Most recently, it has been scientifically proven as a very effective antibacterial and antiviral herb used against SARS-CoV-2 and other aggressive respiratory issues. Let’s go over the actions of this herb, as well as the safety, dosage, and medicinal history.
Actions: anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti fungal, hypoglycemic, vasodilator, diuretic, antispasmodic, bronchodilator, coronary dilator, antiarrhythmic, arrhythmogenic, antipyretic, hypotensive,
Safety & Dosage:
Tincture: 1-2 ml twice a day (1:4 or 1:5 ratio)
Dried Herb: Up to 500 mg twice a day
Safety Precautions:
Do not take if taking other blood thinning drugs or blood pressure medications.
May cause stomach irritation, dilute if necessary.
There have been so many uses of olive leaf that we could talk about it extensively. Let’s go over some of the most common uses, and show how it has been used in ancient medicinals since bible times.
The primary constituents of Olive Leaf are oleuropein, oleuropein aglycone, oleacein, hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, and elenolic acid. Oleuropein is the constituent most attributed to for the medicinal uses of olive leaf. It is throughout the entire plant, including the fruit, but it is most concentrated in the leaves. Oleuropein is a potent antioxidant with the ability to scavenge superoxides and hydroxyl radicals.
It is common knowledge in the herbal world that the ancient Greeks used olive leaf specifically for fever. In 1843, it was reported that olive leaf tea worked effectively against malarial fever.
Various in-vitro studies show that olive leaf inhibits many viruses and gram positive and gram-negative bacterias, as well as yeasts. Some ailments like polio, influenza, common cold, coxsackie (and RNA viruses), HIV, encephalitis, two strains of leukemia.
