Olive leaf extract beats olive pomace for heart health benefits
Mansouri F, Mardani M, Rucci C, Bordoni L, Gabbianelli R
Medicinal Plants
The olive tree in your yard or the potted olive on your patio drops leaves you'd normally rake away and toss, yet those leaves contain the same phenolic compounds this review found lower cholesterol and blood pressure in people.
Olive trees produce two leftover materials when their fruit is processed: the leaves and the pulpy pomace left after pressing oil. Scientists pooled results from 30 human trials and found that leaf extracts reliably improved cholesterol, blood pressure, and body weight, while the pulp leftovers didn't show the same benefits and even bumped up one marker of inflammation. It's a reminder that not all parts of a plant carry the same medicinal punch, even when they come from the same species.
Key Findings
Across 30 RCTs (n=1726), olive leaf supplementation significantly improved total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, ApoB, oxLDL, and raised protective ApoA1.
Olive leaf also reduced TNF-alpha, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, body weight, and BMI, but had no significant effect on blood sugar markers.
Olive pomace supplementation showed no consistent cardiometabolic benefits and was linked to an increase in the inflammatory marker IL-8.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A large review of 30 clinical trials found that olive leaf supplements can meaningfully improve cholesterol, blood pressure, and body weight, while olive pomace supplements showed no consistent benefit and even raised one inflammation marker.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
A GRADE-assessed systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of olive leaf or olive pomace supplementation on cardiometabolic and anthropometric health markers.
Cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) are major contributors to global morbidity and mortality, and dietary bioactives such as polyphenols may modulate key risk factors. Olive by-products, particularly o...
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The olive is a species of subtropical evergreen tree in the family Oleaceae. Originating in Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean Basin, with wild subspecies in Africa and western Asia; modern cultivars are traced primarily to the Near East, Aegean Sea, and Strait of Gibraltar. ...