Olive leaf extracts reduce BP in hypertensive patients

Taking olive oil extract (OLE) helps lower 24-h blood pressure (BP), BP load (BPL), and diastolic BP variability (BPV) while improving lipid profile, systemic inflammation, and body weight in individuals with hypertension, a study has shown.

OLE use led to a significant decrease in 24-h systolic BP relative to 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).

Furthermore, OLE reduced systolic BPL from 53.9 percent at baseline to 42.2 percent at 12 weeks (p=0.03) and diastolic BPL from 30.7 percent to 21.2 percent (p=0.01), while those in the placebo group did not change significantly.

Systolic BPV did not show a significant change between baseline and week 12 (2 percent; p=0.23) in the OLE group, but there was a significant reduction in diastolic BPV (–13.3 percent; p=0.04). Moreover, it showed no significant change in the placebo group at week 12 compared with baseline.

Notably, OLE use resulted in an improvement in lipid profile, as well as significant reductions in blood glucose, triglycerides, C-reactive protein (CRP), and body weight. No significant adverse events occurred.

This multicentre randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 621 participants who were randomized to receive either oral OLE (n=307) or placebo (n=314). Change in 24-h systolic and diastolic BP from baseline to week 12 was the primary outcome. Other outcomes included change in BPL, BPV, metabolic parameters, CRP, and body weight.