Supplementation Effect of a Combination of Olive (Olea europea L.) Leaf and Fruit Extracts in the Clinical Management of Hypertension and Metabolic Syndrome

Michel P Hermans; Philippe Lempereur; Jean-Paul Salembier; Nathalie Maes; Adelin Albert; Olivia Jansen; Joël Pincemail

doi:10.3390/antiox9090872

Supplementation Effect of a Combination of Olive (Olea europea L.) Leaf and Fruit Extracts in the Clinical Management of Hypertension and Metabolic Syndrome

Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 Sep 15;9(9):872. doi: 10.3390/antiox9090872.

Authors

Michel P Hermans¹, Philippe Lempereur², Jean-Paul Salembier³, Nathalie Maes⁴, Adelin Albert⁴, Olivia Jansen⁵, Joël Pincemail⁶

Affiliations

¹ Service d'Endocrinologie et de Nutrition and Pôle Endocrinologie, Diabète et Nutrition (EDIN), Institut de Recherche expérimentale et clinique, UCLouvain, 1200 Brussels, Belgium.
² Service de Cardiologie, Centre Hospitalier Bois de l'Abbaye, 4100 Seraing, Belgium.
³ Service de Cardiologie, CHU UCL Namur - site Sainte-Elisabeth, 5000 Namur, Belgium.
⁴ Biostatistics and Medico-economic Information Department, University Hospital of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
⁵ Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Médicament (CIRM), Université de Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
⁶ Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, CREDEC and Platform Nutrition Antioxydante et Santé, CHU and University of Liège, Sart Tilman, 4000 Liège, Belgium.

Abstract

Background: The role of herbal products in the prevention of cardiovascular disease requires supporting evidence. This open pilot study assessed the effect of 2-month supplementation of a combination of olive leaf and fruit extracts (Tensiofytol^®, Tilman SA, Baillonville, Belgium) in the clinical management of hypertension and metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods: A total of 663 (pre)-hypertensive patients were enrolled by general practitioners and supplemented for two months with Tensiofytol^®, two capsules per day (100 mg/d of oleuropein and 20 mg/d of hydroxytyrosol). Systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP/DBP) were measured before and after treatment. Markers of MetS, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG), fasting blood glucose (FG) and waist circumference (WC), were also examined.

Results: Significant reductions (p < 0.0001) in SBP/DBP (13 ± 10/7.1 ± 6.6 mmHg) were observed and similarly in pre-diabetic and diabetic patients. Improvements in SBP/DPB were independent of age and gender but greater for elevated baseline SBP/DBP. Tensiofytol^® supplementation also significantly improved markers of MetS, with a decrease of TG (11%), WC (1.4%) and FG (4.8%) and an increase of HDL-C (5.3%). Minor side effects were reported in 3.2% patients.

Conclusions: This real-life, observational, non-controlled, non-randomized pilot study shows that supplementation of a combination of olive leaf and fruit extracts may be used efficiently and safely in reducing hypertension and MetS markers.

Keywords: Olea europea L.; hydroxytyrosol; hypertension; metabolic syndrome; oleuropein; olive extracts.