25 replies to this topic

[thedevinroy]

Let's discuss... is olive leaf extract a potential nootropic?

Abstracts, experiences, and comments.

[Hebbeh]

From my experience...no

[JChief]

Let's discuss... is olive leaf extract a potential nootropic?

Abstracts, experiences, and comments.

I take it. It is a potent immune builder and is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic and pro-cardiovascular but nothing cognitive unless perhaps some virus is causing cognitive issues

Edited by JChief, 08 December 2011 - 02:13 AM.

[thedevinroy]

Huh...

Well I might try some and see if I notice anything. I'll start at 500mg 18% Oleuropins (which is converted into hydroxytyrosol in vivo). I'll work my way up until I get side effects. The stuff is cheap, might as well. I do notice a boost in cognition from extra virgin olive oil, similar to Fish Oil, but that could just be the oil, unrelated to the oleuropein.

Anyone notice any side effects from it?

[JChief]

No side effects to speak of here. I haven't been "sick" in years.

Edited by JChief, 09 December 2011 - 11:35 AM.

[malden]

Ive used it Great for energie-focus, and relative low in cost. act alsow as a mao inhibitor. (pulver the leaves into powder en pit it in caps)

Ursolic acid i take know for 6 weeks have more substaineble effects-results, and is realy good for belly fat not that i have had much of it but now is all gone en ticht. muscles are more fuller skin improvements

[hippocampus]

it may be neuroprotective and preventive against alzheimers and similar diseases, but for now this is just a hypothesis based on rat/mice studies.
it may also have anti-aging properties.

www.scipharm.at/download.asp?id=629

i wonder, whether it is found only in leaf or is it also present in olive oil?

[thedevinroy]

it may be neuroprotective and preventive against alzheimers and similar diseases, but for now this is just a hypothesis based on rat/mice studies.
it may also have anti-aging properties.

www.scipharm.at/download.asp?id=629

i wonder, whether it is found only in leaf or is it also present in olive oil?

It's present in the extra virgin olive oil. Responsible for the bitter taste.

[thedevinroy]

No side effects to speak of here. I haven't been "sick" in years.

Awesome. Time to see if a megadose works... well, tomorrow maybe. If not, next week.

[JChief]

No side effects to speak of here. I haven't been "sick" in years.

Awesome. Time to see if a megadose works... well, tomorrow maybe. If not, next week.

I have taken it off and on and hadn't for at least 6 months prior to starting again this month. I can't attribute my lack of getting the flu or any other illness to taking olive leaf. But I expect that it works behind the scenes and that a megadose might not be necessary. But that's not to say I'm curious how it turns out!

Edited by JChief, 09 December 2011 - 04:08 PM.

[thedevinroy]

Each pill was worth 500mg at 6% Oleuropein.

2:30pm. I took 3 to start. I felt a slight life in energy, but not much. Half hour later, I took 6 more and had some pizza. I didn't notice much. Pizza probably counteracted its proper metabolism or something. On the ride home from the mall (6pm to 7:30pm), I took a total of 9 more.

I got home, and to my surprise, when I started walking around, I felt very vibrant with energy. My face was quite warm. I'd say it compares to a good green tea extract. Nothing to notice in area of cognitive benefits other than more energy all around. Definitely some type of mental buzz was going on, but more in the areas of an "upper" antidepressant than a stimulant. No jitters, but I was flying.

There was no crash, but the buzz wore off before I woke up at 5am (having gone to bed at 10 or 11). That's when I realized that it had some potentially stimulating effects. It was strikingly similar to green tea extract.

[Hebbeh]

If I'm not mistaken, I believe I recall olive leaf supposedly having an effect on thyroid hormones.

[Hebbeh]

Can't edit on my phone :-( but the thyroid hormones would also explain the warm face.

[thedevinroy]

Can't edit on my phone :-( but the thyroid hormones would also explain the warm face.

I think you mean the study mentioned here: http://www.livestron...on-the-thyroid/

In a study published in "Phytotherapy Research" in 2002, researchers from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia investigated the effects of olive leaf on the thyroid. Rats were fed extracts of olive leaf for 14 days, at which time researchers ran blood tests to check for thyroid hormone levels. Olive leaf had a significant effect on the thyroid, stimulating a strong increase in triiodothyronin, and a smaller increase on thyroxin -- two important thyroid hormones responsible for regulating metabolism. In addition, olive leaf decreased levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone -- a chemical secreted by the pituitary to stimulate thyroid activity. These results show olive leaf has a direction action on the thyroid gland, and may help to balance thyroid hormones in people suffering from thyroid diseases.

Looked up the pubmed, but nothing besides a two line abstract...

It's very possible hydroxytyrosol is a thyroid stimulant. It is a natural metabolite of dopamine, so it could very well have affinity for receptors in the thyroid or be an antagonist for pituitary regulation. In addition, it may be a precursor in some odd way for thyroid hormones... it does have a catechol ring with not much attached to it... thoughts... only thoughts... can't find any information on why that might be. Might be other compounds, too, responsible for the effects.

I wonder if that's why I feel warm from Ashwagandha...

[Lufega]

Any ideas on why some people feel ill when taking Olive leaf ? Is it really because of some kind of Herx. reaction ?

[thedevinroy]

Any ideas on why some people feel ill when taking Olive leaf ? Is it really because of some kind of Herx. reaction ?

Do they get partial vision loss and migraine? That's what happened to me yesterday. Freaky...

Here for the story: http://www.longecity...838#entry490838

Probably since it is an immunostimulant it might increase allergies? I don't know... have no idea...

There is the Herxheimers reaction... http://www.about-oli...eimers reaction

I guess olive leaf is such a strong pathogen fighter that the body has one hell of a time cleaning up the dead bodies, so to speak.

Edited by devinthayer, 13 December 2011 - 09:00 PM.

[Lufega]

That sounds like Hemianopsia. Strange! You think this was from the olive leaf or the magnesium oxide ? Mag. oxide is crap, I don't see how it can be blamed.

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Hemianopsia

[Lufega]

The correct way to try your experiment is to use olive leaf alone. If you start feeling any Herx., maybe add sulforaphane to help you detoxify. Sulf. also increases the proteasome which would help clear stuff out of your cells. Sulf. also synergizes with lithium in it's neuroprotection by enhancing nrf2 activation. That could be a good combination to protect the brain from any collateral damage.

Functional interference between glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta and the transcription factor Nrf2 in protection against kainate-induced hippocampal cell death.

Rojo AI, Rada P, Egea J, Rosa AO, López MG, Cuadrado A.

Source

Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas "Alberto Sols" UAM-CSIC, Departamento de Bioquímica, and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Abstract

Excitotoxicity mediated by glutamate receptors may underlay the pathology of several neurologic diseases. Considering that oxidative stress is central to excitotoxic damage, in this study we sought to analyze if the transcription factor Nrf2, guardian of redox homeostasis, might be targeted to prevent kainate-induced neuron death. Hippocampal slices from Nrf2 knockout mice exhibited increased oxidative stress and cell death compared to those of control mice in response to kainate, as determined with the redox sensitive probes 2,7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (H(2)DCFAC) and propidium iodide and lactate dehydrogenase release, respectively, therefore demonstrating a role of Nrf2 in antioxidant protection against excitotoxicity. In the hippocampus of mice intraperitoneally injected with kainate we observed a rapid activation of Akt, inhibition of GSK-3beta and translocation of Nrf2 to the nucleus, but after 4 h Akt was inactive, GSK-3beta was active and Nrf2 was mostly cytosolic, therefore extending our previous studies which indicate that GSK-3beta excludes Nrf2 from the nucleus. Lithium, a GSK-3beta inhibitor, promoted Nrf2 transcriptional activity towards an Antioxidant-Response-Element (ARE) luciferase reporter and cooperated with sulforaphane (SFN) to induce this reporter and to increase the protein levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), coded by a representative ARE-containing gene. Conversely, ARE activation by SFN was attenuated by over-expression of active GSK-3beta. Finally, combined treatment with SFN and lithium attenuated oxidative stress and cell death in kainate-treated hippocampal slices of wild type mice but not Nrf2 null littermates. Our findings identify the axis GSK-3beta/Nrf2 as a pharmacological target in prevention of excitotoxic neuronal death. PMID:18619545 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[thedevinroy]

That sounds like Hemianopsia. Strange! You think this was from the olive leaf or the magnesium oxide ? Mag. oxide is crap, I don't see how it can be blamed.

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Hemianopsia

Indeed, usually magnesium oxide is crap. However, magnesium needs to ionized to become absorbed. In order to do that effectively with magnesium oxide, it must a) be small in particle size and b) react with an acid like my stomach acid. I took it to settle my stomach acid. I chewed it up and swallowed. Absorption could have been as much as 50% to 67% depending on the strength of my stomach acid. I took two tablets like that (which also contained magnesium gluconate), 250mg a piece, (for a total of 500mg) in addition to Huperzine A (not a kainate antagonist, but decreases magnesium binding to NMDA by competitive binding) and 7 handfuls of almonds. Almonds also have magnesium about 20% DV (80mg).

500mg of Magnesium * 50% = 250mg
80mg * 7 * 67% = 375.2
Total Magnesium in 5 hours: 625mg

... I have no idea what caused it. Hopefully it wasn't kainate death.

We are totally off topic. Olive leaf may have caused an allergic reaction to dead pathogens...

[Lufega]

I'm thinking of experimenting with high dose olive leaf so I will follow yours with interest!

[nupi]

According to Wikipedia, hydroxytyrosol is both a metabolite of dopamine AND a potent MAOB-I so it might be playing an important role in Dopamine homeostasis. It sounds like it could have nootropic effects like some of the other MAOB-I have (thinking Selegiline among others) plus it is one of the most potent anti oxidants around.

I have a small dose of it in my fish oil, but I am thinking if I should try a higher dose (I need to find out if it is fully MAOB selective thought, I don't want to go into MAOA-I territory with Fluoxetine in my system)...

[nupi]

Or maybe it's not worth to bother: http://www.bluelight...osol-for-MAOI-B

[StarsinOurReach]

Thanks for having this discussion. I was particularly helped by the link to the Oleuropein and Herxheimer reaction.

Right now, my wife has assigned me to take Olive Leaf extract to combat some kind of bacterial/fungal or viral infection that comes at me in surges (Particuarly during winter and early Spring during allergies seasons) Whenever I get too stressed and my immune system is weak, this infections surge over my sinses, can cause eye irritation, and can upset my digestion as well.

So, my only addition to this discussion (above was all just personal situation) :

I am wary that the concept "Herxheimer Reaction" is not as benign as may seem. Because I believe strongly in the need for body to maintain beneficial bacterial balance, any wide-ranging bacterio-cide is suspicious to me. (compare with conventional antibiotics)

I'm going to keep going with the Olive Leaf extract, as it's currently early Spring, and I'll see where it goes!
I do get a slight reaction from taking though.

[madanthony]

Huh...

Well I might try some and see if I notice anything. I'll start at 500mg 18% Oleuropins (which is converted into hydroxytyrosol in vivo). I'll work my way up until I get side effects. The stuff is cheap, might as well. I do notice a boost in cognition from extra virgin olive oil, similar to Fish Oil, but that could just be the oil, unrelated to the oleuropein.

Anyone notice any side effects from it?

I take 1g/day. It causes sinus bradycardia. Which my doc says is normal. It lowers bp 11 points. You can feel it relax your arteries.

[sativa]

Olive leaf extract has noticeable orexin releasing effects:

Orexin is a neuropeptide which is released by the posterior lateral hypothalamus, and is linked to wakefulness and sleep, appetite regulation, and the motivation of sexual and addictive behaviors.

I find olive leaf quite stimulating, in a raw energy sense. I use 500mg standardised to 18% oleuropein capsules.

My renewed interest in olive leaf is its testosterone boosting effects:

Oleuropein boosts testosterone level, lowers cortisol secretion, stimulates aanabolis
www.ergo-log.com/oleuropein-boosts-testosterone-lowers-cortisol-stimulates-anabolism.html

Edited by sativa, 24 August 2016 - 04:12 AM.

[pamojja]

 I'll start at 500mg 18% Oleuropins (which is converted into hydroxytyrosol in vivo).

 

Does anyone know a source for @devinthayer's claim oleoropins would convert into hydrotyrosol in vivo?