Olive (Olea europaea) is a fruit that is grown in temperate climates.

The European olive comes from Spain, Italy, Greece, France.

The olive is used to make oil and extracts. Its pulp is used in the food industry.

In the olive there are bioactive compounds useful for human health such as polyphenols, proteins (1).

The amount of phenolic compounds is significant and explains the antioxidant activity of olive and olive oil:

• phenols are present in quantities between 317mg/100g and 2657mg/100g.
• gallic acid from 7mg/100g to 35mg/100g
• 3,4-Dihydroxybenzoic acid 33mg/100g to 25mg/100g

These values change substantially depending on the type of oleander, harvest period and other parameters (2).

The good protein and amino acid content of olive and in particular maslinic acid, a tripenoid, have shown that, together with moderate exercise, they can increase muscle mass, grip strength, knee pain and thus prevent disability related to mobility in older people (3).

Olive cultivation is damaged by the so-called "Olive Fly" (Bactrocera oleae).

Olive studies

Olive fruit fly

References________________________________________

(1) Proteins in olive fruit and oil.  Montealegre C, Esteve C, García MC, García-Ruiz C, Marina ML.  Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2014;54(5):611-24. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2011.598639. Review.

(2) The effect of harvest time and varieties on total phenolics, antioxidant activity and phenolic compounds of olive fruit and leaves.  Özcan MM, Fındık S, AlJuhaimi F, Ghafoor K, Babiker EE, Adiamo OQ.  J Food Sci Technol. 2019 May;56(5):2373-2385. doi: 10.1007/s13197-019-03650-8.

(3) Maslinic acid derived from olive fruit in combination with resistance training improves muscle mass and mobility functions in the elderly.  Nagai N, Yagyu S, Hata A, Nirengi S, Kotani K, Moritani T, Sakane N.  J Clin Biochem Nutr. 2019 May;64(3):224-230. doi: 10.3164/jcbn.18-104.