Oleuropein is the most important phenolic compound in the fruit of olive tree. In-vitro studies show that oleuropein induces apoptosis in numerous cancers, including leukemia, breast cancer and colon cancer, and inhibits proliferation and metastasis. Scientists demonstrated that oleuropein aglycone is the most strong phenolic compound in decreasing breast cancer cell viability. Although oleuropein has shown strong anticancer activity the underlying action mechanism remains largely unknown.
Olive Leaf Extract and Cancer
Oleuropein, is a potent antioxidant and anti-angiogenic agent. Oleuropein inhibit the proliferation and migration of advanced-grade tumor cell lines in a dose-responsive manner. Olive-leaf extracts were found to inhibit cell proliferation of human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), and human urinary bladder carcinoma. Oleuropein exhibits specific cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells, with higher effect on the basal-like MDA-MB-231 cells than on the luminal MCF-7 cells. Latterly, researchers reported that 200 lg/mL of oleuropein remarkably decreases the viability of MCF-7 cells and reduces the number of MCF-7 cells by inhibiting the rate of cell proliferation and inducing cell apoptosis.
When oleuropein was administered orally to mice that had developed tumors, it regressed the tumors in 9 to 12 days. In an experiment, oleuropein irreversibly rounded cancer cells, preventing their replication, motility, and invasiveness; these effects were reversible in normal cells. When administered orally to mice that developed spontaneous tumors, oleuropein completely regressed tumors in 9-12 days. This experiment; reported by Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. A version of oleanolic acid, found in olive leaf, substantially reduced the growth of liver tumors in lab animals, according to scientists from “Johns Hopkins University and Dartmouth Medical School“. In their study, the use of small amounts of the OLE (olive leaf extract), a triterpenoid analog called CDDO-Im, yielded a greater than 85% diminution in the volume of liver tumors.“Even at low-doses, CDDO-Im induces cell protecting genes, inhibits DNA damage by aflatoxin and dramatically blocks development of liver tumors,” according to Melinda Yates lead author of the study.
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