Olive leaves have been used in traditional medicine for a range of different remedies, including hypertension and atherosclerosis.
But Swiss firm Flachsmann, now owned by Frutarom, was the first botanicals company to publish scientific data showing that an olive leaf extract could lower blood pressure.
After publishing an animal study in 2002, it has now obtained results from a human clinical trial confirming the benefits of its EFLA943 extract.
The clinical trial was carried out in Germany on a group of 20 adult twin pairs. In one group, one twin of each pair was given a 500mg dose of the extract while his or her sibling took a placebo for eight weeks. In a second group, one twin took a 500mg dose while their sibling took the same dose twice a day for the same period.
The results show a dose-dependent effect on blood pressure reduction, with maximum values amounting to decreases by 19 mmHg systolic and 10 mmHg diastolic respectively.
"With the 1g dose, we saw an approximate 10 per cent blood pressure lowering effect," noted Stephan Vautravers, head of marketing and sales at the firm.
The findings were presented at the Phytotherapy congress in Berlin in early October.
"In the rat study we could completely prevent the rise of hypertension. These tremendous results in an animal model encouraged us to continue the research in humans," Vautravers told NutraIngredients.com.
The study also demonstrated an additional benefit on LDL cholesterol reduction.
"The effect was not tremendous but it was significant," added Vautravers.
The new research could be further confirmed by another trial to be carried out in collaboration with one of Frutarom's customers in Asia.
EFLA943 is a concentrated extract of olive leaf, standardized to oleuropein, one of the antioxidant components of the plant. Further work needs to be done on identifying the mechanism of action on blood pressure.
Yet the new findings could lead to new applications for the extract that has been relaunched this year and sees demand of more than 10 tons annually.
About two thirds of strokes and half the incidence of heart disease are attributable to raised blood pressure, according to the World Health Organisation. Worldwide, high blood pressure is estimated to cause 7.1 million deaths, about 13 per cent of the total, and this number will rise dramatically with the increase in obesity.
Frutarom is also positioning the extract as an aid against metabolic syndrome. Both high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels are key to this condition.