Olive leaf extracts help lower BP in patients with hypertension

The use of oral olive leaf extract (OLE) appears beneficial to patients with hypertension, inducing reductions in 24-h blood pressure (BP), BP load, and diastolic BP variability. OLE also improves lipid profile, systemic inflammation, and body weight.

A team of investigators randomly assigned 621 participants to receive either oral OLE (n=307) or placebo (n=314). The change in 24-h systolic and diastolic BP from baseline to week 12 served as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the change in BP load, BP variability, metabolic parameters, C-reactive protein (CRP), and body weight.

Oral OLE use resulted in a significant decrease in 24-h systolic BP compared with baseline (‒6.4 mm Hg, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], ‒10 to ‒2.1) and placebo (‒1.5 mm Hg, 95 percent CI, ‒3.9 to 0.51; p<0.01).

Systolic BP load in the OLE group decreased from 53.9 percent at baseline to 42.2 percent at week 12 (p=0.03). It did not change significantly in the placebo group (p=0.55). Diastolic BP load also decreased from 30.7 percent to 21.2 percent (p=0.03) in the OLE group and did not change significantly in the placebo group (p=0.12).

In the OLE group, systolic BP variability did not significant differ between baseline and week 12 (2 percent; p=0.23), but diastolic BP variability saw a significant reduction (‒13.3 percent; p=0.04). The placebo group also showed no significant change at week 12 compared with baseline.

Furthermore, oral OLE correlated with improved lipid profile and significant reductions in blood glucose, triglycerides, CRP, and body weight. No significant adverse events occurred.