Have you ever heard any of the following statements?
“We alone concentrate right-handed calcium elenolate.” “We invented the olive leaf extract.” “We discovered the secret the Upjohn Company missed.” “There is only one method to produce olive leaf extract that is truly therapeutic.” “Ours is patented.” “We concentrate the R-elenolic acid or manipulate the stereochemistry.”
If you have been researching olive leaf extracts you have probably heard several of these statements and have become extremely confused, especially since there are 30+ companies offering what they consider a good olive leaf extract.
I can almost hear you asking, “What ever happened to, ‘It works, backed by proof?’” The answer is MARKETING!
Companies have to sell their products and if they can convince you that theirs is the best, better or the only one, hopefully, you will buy it. But BEWARE; many things being said about olive leaf extract are not exactly true!
It is time to end the confusion and reap the truth. We will back it up with proof so you will know where to go and will not be confused any longer. I am going to explain, in layman terms, some complicated things, but bear with me–there is light at the end of the tunnel!
After reviewing the list of constituents that come out of an olive leaf extract and not finding Calcium elenolate in it, in 1995 I called Harold Renis, a virologist who used to work for The Upjohn Company. He wrote many of the articles that pertained to Calcium elenolate at the time of testing. He agreed that Calcium elenolate came from acid hydrolysis of elenolic acid. Where by they boiled elenolic acid with calcium carbonate to produce Calcium elenolate. This also concurs with the patent on Calcium elenolate filed in 1962 by Scientist, W. L. C. Veer. (t)
It finally made sense! It does not happen in the body. It was produced in a lab. So what is it that is working in olive leaf extract? To understand this we have to start with what is in a good olive leaf extract.
Olive leaf extract has 98 constituents that can be pulled out of the raw leaves. (a)(m)(See Exhibit: Handbook of Phytochemical constituents of GRAS herbs & other economic plants list By Dr. James A. Duke, Author in the back of this article). As you look over these constituents the first thing you will notice is that there is no Calcium elenolate or Elenolic acid on the chart, but what you do find is Oleuropein. Oleuropein (pronounced O-lee-u-ro-peen) has stereochemistry; in fact, it has many stereo-centers making it diastereomeric. That renders many left and right hands. (f) And although Oleuropein is diastereomeric containing (+ & -) it is only (-) levorotatory in nature according to the Merck index on phytochemicals. (b) (c) Levorotatory means that the molecule, Oleuropein, rotates light to the left in a polarimeter.When Oleuropein is ingested, it breaks down into other compounds, one of which is elenolic acid. Elenolic acid also has stereochemistry and is both (+) & (-) in nature. (Elenolic acid has been found to be highly virucidal in lab tests.) (d)(e)(g) Dr. Rebecca Braslau, Associate Professor of Chemistry at UCSC in California was contacted to verify the information stated above. Two enzymes in your blood do the job of breaking down Oleuropein naturally. The enzymes, esterase & beta-glucosidase, automatically break down Oleuropein in the blood stream to predominately (+) dextrorotatory elenolic acid, no other process is needed. (h)(f)(d)As mentioned before elenolic acid does have stereochemistry and the dextrorotatory molecule of elenolic acid does not blood serum protein bind, remaining virucidal. That is the secret of why it works. This means that olive leaf extract will work in your body according to the percentage of Oleuropein that is in it, the higher percentage the better. Dextrorotatory elenolic acid does not blood serum protein bind. In the late 70's The Upjohn Company hydrolyzed (pulled out) elenolic acid from Oleuropein with mineral acid. (I) After mineral acid hydrolysis only the (-) levorotatory form of elenolic acid was produced. Then they took one of its hydrolysates, a salt of elenolic acid and combined it with calcium carbonate to produce calcium elenolate, which was also only (-) levorotatory, and tested it in the test tube and in humans. It worked great in the test tube (in vitro), but blood serum protein bound in all the human studies (in vivo) rendering it ineffectual. The dextrorotatory molecule however was never used.The difference? When Oleuropein is ingested, it quickly converts to elenolic acid and produces predominately-dextrorotatory elenolic acid. Bio-chemist W. L. C. Veer claimed that elenolic acid, in its dextrorotatory form, when ingested, produces a hypotensive effect in animal & human studies. W. V. Cruess discovered that esterase & beta-glucosidase enzymes were in the olive tree. It was further noted by Cruess that it is beta-glucosidase that hydrolyzes Oleuropein to the (+) dextrorotatory form of elenolic acid, which we now know, does not blood serum protein bind. William R. Fredrickson hypothesized that these same two enzymes would be present in your blood. W. R. Fredrickson also discovered that because of these two enzymes, Oleuropein would automatically change to predominately (+) dextrorotatory elenolic acid in the body. After talking with Harold Renis, he informed me that they (The Upjohn Co.) believed that the left-handed molecule (Levorotatory) was the virucidal form, so they disregarded the right-handed form. (j) Further investigation and independent studies have proved that William R. Fredrickson was correct, right-handed molecules of elenolic acid do not blood serum protein bind. (e)(d)(k)(t) Calcium elenolate is not in olive leaf extracts nor does it occur in your body. When researching olive leaf extract components, calcium elenolate is never shown as a component. (a) That is because calcium elenolate, being a hydrolysate (a salt) of elenolic acid, is a synthesized compound produced in the lab by mineral acid hydrolysis. You create calcium elenolate by boiling calcium carbonate with elenolic acid. (t) This cannot happen in your body. The Upjohn Company, known for producing synthetics, knew that elenolic acid by itself exists as an oil (natural form) and first needed to be converted to a crystalline salt (synthetic) form in order for it to be used in their testing. The molecule of calcium elenolate is only one ion different than that of the molecule of elenolic acid. It is interesting to note that when calcium elenolate is ingested it readily converts back to elenolic acid when mixed with stomach acids. In today’s market calcium elenolate could be produced synthetically and then mixed with the natural extract, but that would be extremely expensive. (j)(l)(t) To date no scientific or medical literature exists to show that the body converts elenolic acid to calcium elenolate. Calcium elenolate cannot be concentrated (+ or -) from an olive leaf extract. Since calcium elenolate does not appear in olive leaf extracts, (a) it is impossible to concentrate it. However there are some companies that would like you to believe they do. (n) Why? Again, Marketing! They’ve got to be different, right? Oleuropein can be concentrated! Since it is Oleuropein in the olive leaf extract, not elenolic acid or calcium elenolate, Oleuropein is then what is concentrated from an extract. For every molecule of Oleuropein concentrated from olive leaf extract, when consumed, seven molecules of dextrorotatory elenolic acid & one molecule of levorotatory elenolic acid are produced. The more Oleuropein you concentrate the more elenolic acid you have. (e)(h)(p) Who really discovered the solution to blood serum protein binding? One company claims that in 1995 they discovered the solution to the blood serum protein-binding problem that The Upjohn Company came up against in the 70's. (n) But the truth is it was William Robert Fredrickson, a lay chemist that uncovered the mystery in 1989. (o) Fredrickson found that when Oleuropein entered the blood stream it was automatically changed predominately to dextrorotatory elenolic acid because of the two enzymes esterase & beta-glucosidase. William Fredrickson published his papers (which are in the Library of Congress) (h) (I have two (2) copies of his book) to this effect. The vice president of the company, claiming to have solved the mystery, use to be William Fredrickson’s partner in 1993 (NFN Company) before he was vice president of the current company making the claim. (Where he received his information on how to make a good olive leaf extract is clear since William Fredrickson was the only chemist among them). In 1995 there was only one company making an olive leaf extract and only one company extracting OLE into a powder form in the United States using a method, which keeps the Oleuropein molecule alive. (s) It is true that all conventional methods of manufacture at that time would have produced an extract that would have been useless in the body. All conventional methods at that time were too hot and would burn up the Oleuropein molecule. (n) Oleuropein is classified as an iridoid by nature and iridoids can be extremely heat sensitive, including unstable. (r) Today, there are other methods that are producing good olive leaf extracts, which can be dried in to a powder form. Please keep in mind that liquid extracts have been around for 100’s of years. So when a company states, “We invented it” what they are really saying is that they came up with a method, not that they invented OLE. Patents & patents pending. Currently there are at least 8 patents or patent pending either on a process, extract or attaching themselves to olive leaf extracts. We hold the U. S. Patent #6,117,844 for Method for Antiviral Therapy and William Fredrickson’s U.S. Patent # 6,455,580 just pass recently claiming the effective use of elenolic acid. It is a concern that the one company claiming they alone discovered the mystery to the blood serum protein-binding problem, who has patent protection for their proprietary extraction process, also claimed in earlier literature that the process concentrated right-reflecting calcium elenolate. (n) What’s amazing about this statement is that their United States Patent #5,714,150 does not say that! It says, in its summary, “It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method for extracting Oleuropein in a form which retains medicinal activity in vivo. It is a further object of the invention to provide Oleuropein in a form which undergoes hydrolysis in vivo to produce elenolic acid which retains its antiviral activity, and which does not bind to proteins in the blood.” (See anything about calcium elenolate there?) “Applicants believe the resultant Oleuropein contains a high proportion of R (right-handed) Oleuropein as compared with L (left-handed) Oleuropein.” They have since changed their story, claiming their process results in a concentration of right reflecting molecules of elenolic acid in the body. They also have changed the name of their extract throughout the years. The fact is, their process is not unique and does not change the Oleuropein molecule, verified by biochemists. Most Olive Leaf Extracts will yield elenolic acid in the body concentrated proportionately to the percentage of Oleuropein they started with. Once again, the higher the percentage of Oleuropein you start, with the higher the concentration of elenolic acid you end up with. (t)(u)(v)There are those who might argue the point that concentrating Oleuropein diminishes all the other synergistic phytochemicals. That is a possibility if a manufacture selectively extracts Oleuropein using just a simple extraction method. However, there are several methods of extraction. Olive Leaf extract usually has many coverings of alcohol and or water, which produce various amounts of phytochemicals each time it is covered depending on the solvent and temperature. Example: If a manufacture uses a non-selective extract method, with three or more coverings of alcohol, they will end up with a fairly predictable substance, but if the same extract was selective for just concentrating Oleuropein the end result would be very high in oleuropein, but very low in the other active phytochemicals. The same manufacture, if it were to use a non-selective extract method and after covering the extract three times, drain off the extract, continued to cover the balance and selectively pulled out additional Oleuropein and merge that with the first extract you end up with quite a different final product, higher in Oleuropein and a higher amount other the other active phytochemicals. The extract named “The Original Olive Leaf Extract” follows the manufacture and administration of U.S. Patent #6,117,844 Example 1-C, which produces a synergistic effect with the other natural flavonoid components of olive leaf, such as: the hydroxytyrosol group, oleoside group, cafferic acid, rutin, hesperidein and luteolin-7-glucoside. U. S. Patent #6,117,844, for Antiviral Therapy claims a method for treating warm-blooded vertebrates suffering from disease of viral origin and wherein the compound is Oleuropein to be orally administered to said vertebrate. A therapeutically effective amount of the antiviral composition is to comprise a compound selected from the group consisting of Oleuropein at a dose of 30mg to 500mg of Oleuropein. Where is the original olive leaf extract? Since extracts have been made for hundreds of years, no one really knows! We do know however, that in 1811 Dr. Pallas used his own liquid extract to stop malaria fever out breaks on the island of Mytelene. France has also produced powdered olive leaf extracts for more than 50 years. The current company labeling their product “The Original Olive Leaf Extract” pertains to the brand name only and not that they invented olive leaf extract, others, sadly, are claiming to be the original and they are not! (w)(x) Currently, there is no extract in the retail market today in a powder form that contains higher than 27% Oleuropein when tested by the Merck Index HPLC test procedure. Many companies claim very high percentages of Oleuropein however when tested fall drastically short of thier stated claims. 13. A balanced (synergistic) extract of flavanoids & phytochemicals works much better than an extract with just high Oleuropein alone. (o)(q) 14. All extracts are not manufactured the same way!Not everyone is privy to formulas that work really well. Consider Coca cola. Do you think there is a company that has their formula? Of course not, even though many have tried, like Pepsi etc. The same is true with the olive leaf extract. The formulation of extracts and their process can produce quite different results. There are some olive leaf extracts on the market that work really well and others that do not. And unfortunately there are some that are worthless. (y)
Here are some other note worthy facts about Olive Leaf Extracts; Oleuropein, when extracted from olive leaves, along with the other phytochemicals (a), works as a very wide spectrum natural antibiotic, (o) (q) but it does not work on all conditions for all people. There are people that this wonderful extract will not work on. How can you tell you are one of those people? You can’t! You simply have to try it.
As good as Olive Leaf Extracts are, they should not be taken along with Antibiotics derived from molds or fungus and certain additional Amino Acid isolates. Antibiotics if they are derived from mold or fungus, when confronted with Oleuropein, may inhibit them or kill them, wasting the effectiveness of both. It is not clear if the same is true with antibiotics not created from molds or fungus.
Amino Acids- one clinical study showed that when elenolic acid (produced from the conversion of Oleuropein) was introduced to equal amounts of either; lysine, glycine, cysteine or histidine it canceled equal part out (counteractive effect), wasting the effacacy of both. Either of these experiences could be frustrating so try and avoid taking them together if possible.
Those using blood thinners should take extra care and seek advice from their health care provider before using Olive Leaf Extract. Olive Leaf Extract has a relaxing effect on the coronary walls of veins and arteries, which makes them more pliable and easier to burse.
Those on blood pressure medications should also seek advice from their health care provider before using olive leaf extract due to olive leaf extracts (hypertensive) blood pressure lowering effect. Each issue can vary in relation to your body weight & metabolism. Many times people believe it doesn’t work for them simply because they are not taking enough or are using a weak brand and sometimes Olive Leaf Extract just will not work on a particular issue for a particular person and no one knows why, but antidotal evidence has shown that most people will receive benefit for most common issue.
Die-off effect (Herxheimer reaction) to help avoid this effect drink plenty of water and if shortly after starting on olive leaf extract you experience cold or flu like symptoms decrease the dosage you take by one capsule each time you take them until the issues go away. I would recommend not stopping it all together if possible, as you will have to start your protocol all over. (k)
If you are concerned about the amount of Oleuropein your product has, call the company on the bottle and ask for a certificate of analysis of the batch number located on the container you’ve purchased.
If after reading this article you may want to do further research on the web. We would suggest PubMed and Medline if you have an account. Also please feel free to visit us on the web at www.ameriden.com for more information.
GOOD NEWS!
The ORIGINAL OLIVE LEAF EXTRACT®, produced exclusively for AMERIDEN International, Inc., is a call away.
Each vegetarian friendly capsule (vegetable cellulose) contains 500mgs of OLE (US Patent # 6,117,844) with standardized 20% Oleuropein (HPLC Verified) And 25mg of Naringin creating a unique delivery system in the body. for a total of 525mg per capsule. About the Author:
Richard L. Hall is an agriculturist & herbalist who have been involved with the process of olive leaf extract coming to market since its inception in 1989. His company harvested and provided the olive leaves for William R. Fredrickson, the original lay-chemist, who discovered and solved the problem of blood serum protein binding that The Upjohn Company had in the 70's. Mr. Hall’s company also provides “The Original Olive Leaf Extract” under the Trademarked name “OlivFactor” for Private Labeling” in the United States as well as internationally. Because of the high cost of labor in the U. S., 99% of all leaf used for commercial production of Olive Leaf extract is harvested from either Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Israel and some in Mexico (one source). “The Original Olive Leaf Extract” uses only leaf processed in Spain, as it is the highest quality. The trees are not chemically sprayed or chemically fertilized and the leaves can be harvested year round. As CEO of AMERIDEN International, Mr. Hall and his staff are dedicated to the truth and providing proven Nutraceuticals, which are Bio-Active. References
Handbook of phytochemical constituents of GRAS herbs & other economic plants. by James A. Duke, Author (U.S.D.A.) The Merck Index, 10th edition, Oleuropein, Pg. 980 Dictionary of Organic Compounds, 5th Vol. 3, Oleuropein PP 4400-01 W. V. Cruess, Oleuropein, The bitter principal of the olive. IV Congress Intern. Tech. Chem. Ind. Agr. Brussels, 3:638-45, 1935 P. Gariboldi, et,al Secoiridoids from Olea europaea. Phyto-Chemistry 25(40):865-69 1986 Antimicrobial Properties of Oleuropein & Products of its hydrolysis from green olives. H. P. Fleming, W. M. Walters, Jr. & J. L. Etchells, Applied Microbiology, Nov 1973, Vol. 26 #5 PP 777-82. Kaij-a-Kamb, M; Amoros, M; Girre, L. “Search for new antiviral agents of plant origin. Pharma-Acta-Helv, 67(5-6):130-47, 1992 The Tree of Life, William R. Fredrickson, Library of Congress, Pg 87, 1994 In Vitro Antiviral Activity of Calcium Elenolate Harold Renis, Dept. of Virology, Antimicrobal Agents & Chemotherapy PP 167-72, 1969 Elenolic Acid to Calcium Elenolate. Conversation with Harold Renis and Richard Hall Ameriden International and Harold Renis March, 1999 Olive Leaf Extract, Natures Antibiotic, Dr. Morton Walker, How olive leaf extract works against Microbes. Pg 42, 1997 Inactivation of DNA polymerase of Murine Leukemia Viruses by Calcium elenolate. Nature New Biology Vol. 238 Aug. 30, 1972 Antioxidative Activities of Olea europaea leaves & related compounds. Bernard Le Tutour & Didier Gueden, Phytochemistry Vol. 31, #4, PP1173-78, 1992 Olive Leaf Extract, Natures secret for Vibrant Health & Long Life. The National Life Extension Research Institute, Sixth Printing, Pg. 18, 1998 The Tree of Life, William R. Fredrickson, Library of Congress. PP 111-114, 1994 W. V. Creuss, C. L. Alsberg. The Bitter Glucoside of Olive. Journal of Amer. Chem. Soc. 56:2115-17, 1934 Olive Leaf Extract. Video- Doctor to Doctor Show, TBN Pharmacological Analysis of the Iridiod Oleuropein V. Petkov & P. Manolov, Arzneim-Forsch (Drug Res.) 22(9) 1173-1178, Nov. 1992 Olive Leaf Extract, Nature’s Antibiotic, Dr. Morton Walker, Benefits of Taking Olive Leaf Extract Components. Pg. 44, 1997 W. L. C. Veer, U. S. Patent #3,033,877 1962. Also, Journal Rec. Trav. Chem. 76:839-40. 1957 Method & composition for Antiviral Therapy with Olive Leaves. Docket #6524-23686 William R. Fredrickson, 1994 Method for Producing Extract of Olive Leaves. Pat. #5,714,150 Feb.3, 1998, Les Nachman, Inventor Provincial Transactions, The Febrifuge Properties of the Olive. D. Hanbury, Re: Dr. Pallas PP 353-354, 1854 Olive Leaf Extract, Nature’s Antibiotic. Dr. Morton Walker. Uncovering the Therapeutic Components of Olive Leaf Extract. Pg. 53, 1997 Pharmline Inc. Laboratory Tests Performed 7/98 Bio-chemist, Duane Dostie, Dr. Zakir Ramazanov
Other Sources
Phyto-chemical constituents of GRAS herbs and other economic plants. James A. Duke, Author Olive Leaf Extract, Nature’s Secret for Vibrant Health & Long Life. Pg. 18, 1998 U. S. Patent #5,714,150 Method for Producing Extract of Olive Leaves. Leslie Nachman, Inventor U.S. Patent #6,117,844 Method and composition for Antiviral Therapy. William R. Fredrickson, Inventor Dr. Dixon, Testimony of effectiveness of Ameriden’s “The Original Olive Leaf Extract” & others. HPLC results from Pharmline, Inc. showing claimed percentages of Oleuropein and their true percentages. Aug. 10th, 1998 Dr. Rebecca Braslau, Associate Professor of Chemistry at UCSC California.1999
Additional Olive Leaf Extract References and Research
Moreno, J. A., J. Lopez-Miranda, et al. (2003). “[Effect of phenolic compounds of virgin olive oil on LDL oxidation resistance].” Med Clin (Barc) 120(4): 128-31. Bisignano, G., A. Tomaino, R. Lo Cascio, G. Crisafi, N. Uccella and A. Saija (1999). “On the in-vitro antimicrobial activity of oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol.” J Pharm Pharmacol 51(8): 971-4. Caruso, D., B. Berra, F. Giavarini, N. Cortesi, E. Fedeli and G. Galli (1999). “Effect of virgin olive oil phenolic compounds on in vitro oxidation of human low density lipoproteins.” Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 9(3): 102-7. Coni, E., R. Di Benedetto, M. Di Pasquale, R. Masella, D. Modesti, R. Mattei and E. A. Carlini (2000). “Protective effect of oleuropein, an olive oil biophenol, on low density lipoprotein oxidizability in rabbits.” Lipids 35(1): 45-54. de la Puerta, R., E. Martinez-Dominguez and V. Ruiz-Gutierrez (2000). “Effect of minor components of virgin olive oil on topical anti-inflammatory assays [In Process Citation].” Z Naturforsch [C] 55(9-10): 814-9. Esti, M., L. Cinquanta and E. La Notte (1998). “Phenolic Compounds in Different Olive Varieties.” J Agric Food Chem 46(1): 32-35. Gonzalez, M., A. Zarzuelo, M. J. Gamez, M. P. Utrilla, J. Jimenez and I. Osuna (1992). “Hypoglycemic activity of olive leaf.” Planta Med 58(6): 513-5. Onderoglu, S., S. Sozer, K. M. Erbil, R. Ortac and F. Lermioglu (1999). “The evaluation of long-term effects of cinnamon bark and olive leaf on toxicity induced by streptozotocin administration to rats.” J Pharm Pharmacol 51(11): 1305-12. Perri, E., A. Raffaelli and G. Sindona (1999). “Quantitation of oleuropein in virgin olive oil by ionspray mass spectrometry-selected reaction monitoring.” J Agric Food Chem 47(10): 4156-60. Petroni, A., M. Blasevich, M. Salami, N. Papini, G. F. Montedoro and C. Galli (1995). “Inhibition of platelet aggregation and eicosanoid production by phenolic components of olive oil.” Thromb Res 78(2): 151-60. Servili, M., M. Baldioli, R. Selvaggini, A. Macchioni and G. Montedoro (1999). “Phenolic compounds of olive fruit: one- and two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of Nuzhenide and its distribution in the constitutive parts of fruit.” J Agric Food Chem 47(1): 12-8. Visioli, F., G. Bellomo and C. Galli (1998). “Free radical-scavenging properties of olive oil polyphenols.” Biochem Biophys Res Commun 247(1): 60-4. Visioli, F., S. Bellosta and C. Galli (1998). “Oleuropein, the bitter principle of olives, enhances nitric oxide production by mouse macrophages.” Life Sci 62(6): 541-6. Visioli, F. and C. Galli (1994). “Oleuropein protects low density lipoprotein from oxidation.” Life Sci 55(24): 1965-71. Visioli, F. and C. Galli (2001). “Antiatherogenic Components of Olive Oil.” Curr Atheroscler Rep 3(1): 64-67. Zarzuelo, A., J. Duarte, J. Jimenez, M. Gonzalez and M. P. Utrilla (1991). “Vasodilator effect of olive leaf.” Planta Med 57(5): 417-9. Zarauelo A et al, Vasodilator effect of olive leaf, Planta Med., 1991; 57(5), 417-19. Samuelsson G, The blood pressure lowering factor in leaves of Olea Europaea. Farmacevtisk Revy, 15:229-39. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Society of Pharmaceutical Industries of Tunis, Hypotension, hypoglycemia and hypouricemia recorded after repeated administration of aqueous leaf extract of Olea europaea, Belgian Pharmacology Journal, March-April 1994; 49(2), 101-8.
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