| Diet &
Nutrition Olive
Leaf Extract
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Olive
Leaf Extract - a natural antibiotic?
Every
year, approximately 70 million prescriptions that is one in every
six — are written out for antibiotics. The proliferate use of
antibiotics as a cure-all handed out by overworked GPs and hospital
doctors has led to the rapid decline in their efficacy to ward off
infections simply because more and more strains of bacteria are
becoming resistant to them. In UK hospitals there are already
superbugs which are resistant to virtually all known antibiotics.
One strain, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus has been
causing mini-epidemics across the country and only responds to one
antibiotic, vancomycin. But, even this, the experts predict, will
become resistant to it. According to Dr Peter Lambert,
micro-biologist at Birmingham’s As ton University eventually
organisms will emerge which are totally resistant (to existing
antibiotics)’.
Each time you take a course of antibiotics
for an infection, some bacteria may survive if, for instance the
course has not been completed, and they then mutate and become
stronger. This means that if you pass on an infection to another
per-son, it is more likely to be resistant to the original
antibiotic.
A study in Iceland of children under the
age of seven found that there was a strong correlation between the
level of antibiotics prescribed and antibiotic-resistant pneumocci.
Side effects of
antibiotics
Not
only are antibiotics becoming less effective against many infectious
diseases, but their overuse may also be responsible for some modern
diseases including Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome,
cystitis, thrush, Chronic fatigue syndrome and arthritis. The latest
report in the British medical Journal found that the widespread,
uncontrolled use of antibiotics such as streptomycin and gentamicin
is responsible for loss of hearing in children in the third world.
The situation is so serious that specialists are calling for the
banning of the sale of these medicines (2).
Efficacy
Echinacea
has long been acknowledged as an effective herbal remedy to help the
body’s immune system at times of infection by killing bacteria and
disabling viruses. We have now received reports of a further herbal
extract which has also been shown to have strong anti-bacterial and
anti viral activity Oleuropein, a bitter glucoside found in the
leaves of the green olive tree.
Studies have shown that olive leaf extract
is effective in delaying the growth of Staphylococcus aureus (3) and
Bacillus cereus (4). However a recent study involving over 500
patients conducted at the ‘R’ Clinic of Budapest in Hungary has
found that it was extremely effective in treating a wide variety of
infections and illnesses. In an uncontrolled trial by Dr Robert
Lyons O.M.D., M.S., Eden extract (6) which contains extract from
olive leaves resulted in 115 out of 119 patients with respiratory
tract infections fully recovering. 60 out of 67 patients with dental
infections (pulpitis, leukoplakia, stoma-titis), 120 out of 172
patients with viral skin conditions (e.g. herpes) and 30 out of 37
patients with skin infections (e.g. pyoderma and injuries).
Furthermore, although not all of the patients fully recovered after
taking the extract, none of them reported that they had not improved
as a result of the treatment.
The report concluded that the rate of
improvement and recovery from all bacterial and viral infections was
approximately 98 per cent, and for all patients involved in the
study, the body’s immune system was found to be strengthened. No
patients experienced any adverse side effects.
Further in vitro studies have found that
olive leaf extract is effective against over 50 common disease
causing organisms including viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa
such as herpes, influenza A, Polio 1, 2, and 3; Salmonella
typhimurium, Candida Krusei and Cox-sackie A 21.6) 7) 6) 6)
(1) BMJ 1996;313,897-91
(2) BMJ 1996;313,648
(3) H.S. Tranter, Soula C, Tassou, G.L. Nychas. The effect of the
olive phenolic compound oleuropein on growth and enterotoxin B
production by Staphvococcus aureus. Journal of Applied Bacteri-ology
1993. 74. 253-259.
(4) Chrvsoula c Tassou, G.J.E. Nychas, R.G. Board. Effect of
Phenolic Compounds and Oleuropein on the germination of Bacillus
cereus spoes. Biotech-nologv andApplied Biochemistry (1991)
13,231-237.
(5) Lyons R. The use of Eden’ extract against patho-logical
organisms — viruses, bacteria and fungi. Explore 1996, 4.
(6) Renis HE. In vitro anti viral activity of Calcium elenola te’
Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 1969 167-172
(7) Elliot G, Buthala D, DeYoung F. Preliminary safety studies with
calcium elenolate, an anti viral agent. Antimicrobial agents and
chemotherapy 1975; 8:173-199.
(8) Heinze J, Hale A.H., Carl P. Specificity of the anti viral agent
calcium elenolate. Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 1975 8(4)
421-425.
(9) Fleming H, Waler Wet al. Antimicrobial proper-ties of oleuropein
and products of its hydrolysis from green olives. Microbiology 1973
26(5) 777-782
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