Phytocontent and Biological Effects of Olea europaea L. : A Review

Abstract

Olive tree (Olea europaea L., Oleaceae) leaves have been widely used in traditional herbal medicine to prevent and treat various diseases especially in Mediterranean countries. They contain several potentially bioactive com-pounds that may have hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic properties. Olea europaea is commonly known as Zaitoon. The ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and other Mediterranean nations cultivated olives for its edible fruits and to obtain oil from them. Leaves of the tree became important when olive leaf extract was reported to be potent in reducing incidence of degenerative diseases, particularly coronary heart disease (CHD) and cancers of the breast, skin, and colon. Olive leaves have the highest antioxidant power among the different parts of the olive tree. While in olive fruit, phenols (e.g. TYR) and terpenoid hydrocarbon (squalene) are the major components found in the oil. Much research has been carried out on the medical applications of olive. The choice of the plant was based on the good previous biological study of Olea europaea. Interest to choose this plant, may have been due to the widespread use of olive species medicinally, food industry and cosmetics.