According to some scientific research the leaves of the olive tree seem to have incredible health benefits.
As some international studies have suggested, the properties of olive leaves can "enrich vegetable oils, or they can be used when cooking meat to slow down the oxidative processes of proteins and fats.
Let’s find out more.
The Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10970010 - considered one of the most important and prestigious international journals in the field of food technology - published in the March 2018 issue a summary of the research conducted in recent years on the potential use of olive leaves as a source of high functional, dietary, therapeutic and high nutraceutical value components"
This is reported by the specialized website "Ager Project", which states: "one of these researches, entitled 'Olive tree (Olea europaea L.) leaf as a waste by-product of table olive and olive oil industry' by Selin Sahine and Mehmet Bilgin of the University of Istanbul, showed that the leaves carried to the mill along with the olives usually represent 10%. It is, therefore, an abundant, inexpensive and renewable source of biophenols. The report also states that the content of biophenols in olive leaves is related to genetic, agronomic and climatic factors and is particularly high in spring".
What are biophenols? They are natural compounds with significant health properties: they fight bacteria, viruses, inflammation and allergies. They prevent the aging of cells and seem to have preventive power even against cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer.
This evidence has given rise to a series of further scientific investigations, including that of the University of Parma, which aims to analyze "the nature of biophenols present in the leaves and how, if extracted, they can be used for the enrichment of food products using innovative techniques.
Given the high amount of wasted leaves in current olive oil production systems, this research has gained significant traction.
From a circular economy perspective, the re-use of leaves to produce biophenols is one of the objectives of the research conducted at the University of Parma by the project S.O.S under the supervision of Prof. Emma Chiavaro.
Here the full research in English: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10970010
Source www.olivoeolio.progettoager.it
12 September 2021
