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Olives and olive oil have long been known to confer salutary effects to the skin.1 Leaves and fruits of the olive plant (Olea europaea) have been used as external emollients to treat skin ulcers and inflammatory wounds.2 The phenolic compound oleuropein, the most abundant phenolic found in olive leaves and oil, has been shown to exhibit antioxidant and free radical–scavenging activities.3,4 Also present in the stems and flowers of the plant, oleuropein, an ester of elenolic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl ethanol and the primary glycoside in olives,5 is thought to be the major contributor to its antioxidant and antimelanogenesis activities.6 Notably, olive leaves, which contain a copious supply of oleuropein, are thought to exert significantly more antioxidant activity than olive fruit.7
Hydroxytyrosol is an ortho-diphenolic substance and essential constituent of oleuropein that has been shown in vitro to prevent apoptotic cell death caused by UVB in HaCaT cells.8,9 Both oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol impart various anticancer properties at the initiation, promotion, and metastasis stages and yield protection against multiple cancers, including skin tumors.10 The antioxidant activity of both compounds, which has been found to be more potent than that of vitamin E, is attributed to their phenolic content.11,12 In addition, oleuropein and lipophilic olive mill wastewater derivatives have been useful as active ingredients for stabilizing cosmetic formulations.13 This column revisits oleuropein after 10 years to focus on its dermatologic potential.
Protection against UV damage
A hairless mouse study by Kimura and Sumiyoshi in 2009 revealed that olive leaf extract and its primary constituent oleuropein exert a skin-protective effect against chronic UVB-induced skin damage and carcinogenesis, as well as tumor growth. This is likely caused by reducing cutaneous cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 levels, thus suppressing the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and various matrix metalloproteinases, specifically MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-13.14
A year later, the same researchers examined the potential protective effects of olive leaf extract and oleuropein on acute damage induced by UVB exposure in C57BL/6J mice. Both oral extract (300 mg/kg or 1,000 mg/kg) and oral oleuropein (25mg/kg or 85 mg/kg) hindered skin thickness increases engendered by daily doses of UVB (120 mJ/cm2 for 5 days, then every other day for 9 days). Olive leaf extract and oleuropein also suppressed increases in Ki-67- and 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine–positive cell numbers, melanin granule area, and MMP-13 expression, the investigators noted.15 Preinitiation with oleuropein also appears to have prevented skin tumor formation in a two-stage carcinogenesis model in mice, which the investigators ascribed to the antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties of the olive protein.16
The cosmetic characteristics of oleuropein against UVB-induced erythema in healthy volunteers were assessed by Perugini et al. in 2008. Using an emulsion and emulgel containing oleuropein and vitamin E as a reference compound, the investigators found that the botanical ingredient was responsible for decreases in erythema (22%), transepidermal water loss (35%), and blood flow (30%). They suggested that the use of oleuropein in cosmetic formulations warrants further investigation for its potential to help mitigate UV damage.3
Wound healing
Koca et al. assessed the wound healing activity of O. europaea leaf extracts using in vivo wound models and the reference ointment Madecassol (Bayer; Istanbul) for comparison, in 2011. The results showed that the aqueous extract exhibited wound healing properties, with secoiridoid oleuropein (4.6059%) found to be the primary active constituent.2
In a 2014 skin wound–healing investigation in aged male Balb/c mice, Mehraein et al. divided 24 mice, 16 months of age, into control and experimental groups. On days 3 and 7 after incision, collagen fiber deposition was significantly increased and reepithelialization more advanced in the oleuropein group (administered via an intradermal injection once a day), which also experienced decreased cell infiltration. The investigators concluded that oleuropein speeds cutaneous wound healing in mice and may have potential for clinical applications in human would healing from surgery.17
Later that year, the same team investigated the therapeutic effects of oleuropein on the wounded skin of young male Balb/c mice, finding similar results, with the phenolic compound again accelerating reepithelialization, improving collagen fiber synthesis, and augmenting blood flow to wound areas via up-regulating VEGF protein expression.4
Hair growth
In 2015, Tong et al. reported that topically applied oleuropein spurred the anagen hair growth phase in telogenic C57BL/6N mouse skin.18 An O. europaea subcutaneous immunotherapy has also demonstrated reductions in cutaneous reactivity, safety, and tolerability in patients with rhinoconjunctivitis.19
Conclusion
The benefits of consuming olives and olive oil are well established and continue to be studied. backed by many years of anecdotal reporting and use in traditional medicine. While the emerging data on the dermatologic uses of the olive phenolic constituent oleuropein are encouraging, much more information, particularly derived from randomized, controlled trials in humans, is necessary to establish the full potential of oleuropein for indications such as wound healing and protection against UV damage.
Dr. Baumann is a private practice dermatologist, researcher, author, and entrepreneur who practices in Miami. She founded the Cosmetic Dermatology Center at the University of Miami in 1997. Dr. Baumann wrote two textbooks: “Cosmetic Dermatology: Principles and Practice” (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002), and “Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients” (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014), and a New York Times Best Sellers book for consumers, “The Skin Type Solution” (New York: Bantam Dell, 2006). Dr. Baumann has received funding for advisory boards and/or clinical research trials from Allergan, Evolus, Galderma, and Revance. She is the founder and CEO of Skin Type Solutions Franchise Systems. Write to her at [email protected].
References
1. Baumann LS, Weisberg EM. “Olive oil in botanical cosmeceuticals.” Olives and Olive Oil in Health and Disease Prevention. New York: Academic Press, 2010.
2. Koca U et al. J Med Food. 2011 Jan-Feb;14(1-2):140-6.
3. Perugini P et al. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2008 Apr;30(2):113-20.
4. Mehraein F et al. Wounds. 2014 Mar;26(3):83-8.
5. Imran M et al. J Food Sci. 2018 Jul;83(7):1781-91.
6. Kishikawa A et al. Phytother Res. 2015 Jun;29(6):877-86.
7. Zheng J et al. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2016 Feb;41(4):613-8.
8. Salucci S et al. J Dermatol Sci. 2015 Oct;80(1):61-8.
9. Jeon S, Choi M. Biomed Dermatol. 2018;2:21.
10. Imran M et al. J Food Sci. 2018 Jul;83(7):1781-91.
11. Visioli F et al. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1998 Jun 9;247(1):60-4.
12. Polišak N et al. Phytother Res. 2019 Oct 27. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6524.
13. Aissa I et al. Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2017 Jul;64(4):579-89.
14. Kimura Y, Sumiyoshi M. J Nutr. 2009 Nov;139(11):2079-86.
15. Sumiyoshi M, Kimura Y. Phytother Res. 2010 Jul;24(7):995-1003.
16. John DNS et al. JKIMSU. 2019 Jan-Mar;8(1):43-51.
17. Mehraein F et al. Cell J. 2014 Feb 3;16(1):25-30.
18. Tong T et al. PLoS One. 2015 Jun 10;10(6):e0129578.
19. Saenza De San Pedro B et al. Eur All Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019 Nov 27. doi: 10.23822/EurAnnACI.1764-1489.124.
Olives and olive oil have long been known to confer salutary effects to the skin.1 Leaves and fruits of the olive plant (Olea europaea) have been used as external emollients to treat skin ulcers and inflammatory wounds.2 The phenolic compound oleuropein, the most abundant phenolic found in olive leaves and oil, has been shown to exhibit antioxidant and free radical–scavenging activities.3,4 Also present in the stems and flowers of the plant, oleuropein, an ester of elenolic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl ethanol and the primary glycoside in olives,5 is thought to be the major contributor to its antioxidant and antimelanogenesis activities.6 Notably, olive leaves, which contain a copious supply of oleuropein, are thought to exert significantly more antioxidant activity than olive fruit.7
Hydroxytyrosol is an ortho-diphenolic substance and essential constituent of oleuropein that has been shown in vitro to prevent apoptotic cell death caused by UVB in HaCaT cells.8,9 Both oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol impart various anticancer properties at the initiation, promotion, and metastasis stages and yield protection against multiple cancers, including skin tumors.10 The antioxidant activity of both compounds, which has been found to be more potent than that of vitamin E, is attributed to their phenolic content.11,12 In addition, oleuropein and lipophilic olive mill wastewater derivatives have been useful as active ingredients for stabilizing cosmetic formulations.13 This column revisits oleuropein after 10 years to focus on its dermatologic potential.
Protection against UV damage
A hairless mouse study by Kimura and Sumiyoshi in 2009 revealed that olive leaf extract and its primary constituent oleuropein exert a skin-protective effect against chronic UVB-induced skin damage and carcinogenesis, as well as tumor growth. This is likely caused by reducing cutaneous cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 levels, thus suppressing the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and various matrix metalloproteinases, specifically MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-13.14
A year later, the same researchers examined the potential protective effects of olive leaf extract and oleuropein on acute damage induced by UVB exposure in C57BL/6J mice. Both oral extract (300 mg/kg or 1,000 mg/kg) and oral oleuropein (25mg/kg or 85 mg/kg) hindered skin thickness increases engendered by daily doses of UVB (120 mJ/cm2 for 5 days, then every other day for 9 days). Olive leaf extract and oleuropein also suppressed increases in Ki-67- and 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine–positive cell numbers, melanin granule area, and MMP-13 expression, the investigators noted.15 Preinitiation with oleuropein also appears to have prevented skin tumor formation in a two-stage carcinogenesis model in mice, which the investigators ascribed to the antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties of the olive protein.16
The cosmetic characteristics of oleuropein against UVB-induced erythema in healthy volunteers were assessed by Perugini et al. in 2008. Using an emulsion and emulgel containing oleuropein and vitamin E as a reference compound, the investigators found that the botanical ingredient was responsible for decreases in erythema (22%), transepidermal water loss (35%), and blood flow (30%). They suggested that the use of oleuropein in cosmetic formulations warrants further investigation for its potential to help mitigate UV damage.3
Wound healing
Koca et al. assessed the wound healing activity of O. europaea leaf extracts using in vivo wound models and the reference ointment Madecassol (Bayer; Istanbul) for comparison, in 2011. The results showed that the aqueous extract exhibited wound healing properties, with secoiridoid oleuropein (4.6059%) found to be the primary active constituent.2
In a 2014 skin wound–healing investigation in aged male Balb/c mice, Mehraein et al. divided 24 mice, 16 months of age, into control and experimental groups. On days 3 and 7 after incision, collagen fiber deposition was significantly increased and reepithelialization more advanced in the oleuropein group (administered via an intradermal injection once a day), which also experienced decreased cell infiltration. The investigators concluded that oleuropein speeds cutaneous wound healing in mice and may have potential for clinical applications in human would healing from surgery.17
Later that year, the same team investigated the therapeutic effects of oleuropein on the wounded skin of young male Balb/c mice, finding similar results, with the phenolic compound again accelerating reepithelialization, improving collagen fiber synthesis, and augmenting blood flow to wound areas via up-regulating VEGF protein expression.4
Hair growth
In 2015, Tong et al. reported that topically applied oleuropein spurred the anagen hair growth phase in telogenic C57BL/6N mouse skin.18 An O. europaea subcutaneous immunotherapy has also demonstrated reductions in cutaneous reactivity, safety, and tolerability in patients with rhinoconjunctivitis.19
Conclusion
The benefits of consuming olives and olive oil are well established and continue to be studied. backed by many years of anecdotal reporting and use in traditional medicine. While the emerging data on the dermatologic uses of the olive phenolic constituent oleuropein are encouraging, much more information, particularly derived from randomized, controlled trials in humans, is necessary to establish the full potential of oleuropein for indications such as wound healing and protection against UV damage.
Dr. Baumann is a private practice dermatologist, researcher, author, and entrepreneur who practices in Miami. She founded the Cosmetic Dermatology Center at the University of Miami in 1997. Dr. Baumann wrote two textbooks: “Cosmetic Dermatology: Principles and Practice” (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002), and “Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients” (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014), and a New York Times Best Sellers book for consumers, “The Skin Type Solution” (New York: Bantam Dell, 2006). Dr. Baumann has received funding for advisory boards and/or clinical research trials from Allergan, Evolus, Galderma, and Revance. She is the founder and CEO of Skin Type Solutions Franchise Systems. Write to her at [email protected].
References
1. Baumann LS, Weisberg EM. “Olive oil in botanical cosmeceuticals.” Olives and Olive Oil in Health and Disease Prevention. New York: Academic Press, 2010.
2. Koca U et al. J Med Food. 2011 Jan-Feb;14(1-2):140-6.
3. Perugini P et al. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2008 Apr;30(2):113-20.
4. Mehraein F et al. Wounds. 2014 Mar;26(3):83-8.
5. Imran M et al. J Food Sci. 2018 Jul;83(7):1781-91.
6. Kishikawa A et al. Phytother Res. 2015 Jun;29(6):877-86.
7. Zheng J et al. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2016 Feb;41(4):613-8.
8. Salucci S et al. J Dermatol Sci. 2015 Oct;80(1):61-8.
9. Jeon S, Choi M. Biomed Dermatol. 2018;2:21.
10. Imran M et al. J Food Sci. 2018 Jul;83(7):1781-91.
11. Visioli F et al. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1998 Jun 9;247(1):60-4.
12. Polišak N et al. Phytother Res. 2019 Oct 27. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6524.
13. Aissa I et al. Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2017 Jul;64(4):579-89.
14. Kimura Y, Sumiyoshi M. J Nutr. 2009 Nov;139(11):2079-86.
15. Sumiyoshi M, Kimura Y. Phytother Res. 2010 Jul;24(7):995-1003.
16. John DNS et al. JKIMSU. 2019 Jan-Mar;8(1):43-51.
17. Mehraein F et al. Cell J. 2014 Feb 3;16(1):25-30.
18. Tong T et al. PLoS One. 2015 Jun 10;10(6):e0129578.
19. Saenza De San Pedro B et al. Eur All Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019 Nov 27. doi: 10.23822/EurAnnACI.1764-1489.124.
Olives and olive oil have long been known to confer salutary effects to the skin.1 Leaves and fruits of the olive plant (Olea europaea) have been used as external emollients to treat skin ulcers and inflammatory wounds.2 The phenolic compound oleuropein, the most abundant phenolic found in olive leaves and oil, has been shown to exhibit antioxidant and free radical–scavenging activities.3,4 Also present in the stems and flowers of the plant, oleuropein, an ester of elenolic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl ethanol and the primary glycoside in olives,5 is thought to be the major contributor to its antioxidant and antimelanogenesis activities.6 Notably, olive leaves, which contain a copious supply of oleuropein, are thought to exert significantly more antioxidant activity than olive fruit.7
Hydroxytyrosol is an ortho-diphenolic substance and essential constituent of oleuropein that has been shown in vitro to prevent apoptotic cell death caused by UVB in HaCaT cells.8,9 Both oleuropein and hydroxytyrosol impart various anticancer properties at the initiation, promotion, and metastasis stages and yield protection against multiple cancers, including skin tumors.10 The antioxidant activity of both compounds, which has been found to be more potent than that of vitamin E, is attributed to their phenolic content.11,12 In addition, oleuropein and lipophilic olive mill wastewater derivatives have been useful as active ingredients for stabilizing cosmetic formulations.13 This column revisits oleuropein after 10 years to focus on its dermatologic potential.
Protection against UV damage
A hairless mouse study by Kimura and Sumiyoshi in 2009 revealed that olive leaf extract and its primary constituent oleuropein exert a skin-protective effect against chronic UVB-induced skin damage and carcinogenesis, as well as tumor growth. This is likely caused by reducing cutaneous cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 levels, thus suppressing the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and various matrix metalloproteinases, specifically MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-13.14
A year later, the same researchers examined the potential protective effects of olive leaf extract and oleuropein on acute damage induced by UVB exposure in C57BL/6J mice. Both oral extract (300 mg/kg or 1,000 mg/kg) and oral oleuropein (25mg/kg or 85 mg/kg) hindered skin thickness increases engendered by daily doses of UVB (120 mJ/cm2 for 5 days, then every other day for 9 days). Olive leaf extract and oleuropein also suppressed increases in Ki-67- and 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine–positive cell numbers, melanin granule area, and MMP-13 expression, the investigators noted.15 Preinitiation with oleuropein also appears to have prevented skin tumor formation in a two-stage carcinogenesis model in mice, which the investigators ascribed to the antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties of the olive protein.16
The cosmetic characteristics of oleuropein against UVB-induced erythema in healthy volunteers were assessed by Perugini et al. in 2008. Using an emulsion and emulgel containing oleuropein and vitamin E as a reference compound, the investigators found that the botanical ingredient was responsible for decreases in erythema (22%), transepidermal water loss (35%), and blood flow (30%). They suggested that the use of oleuropein in cosmetic formulations warrants further investigation for its potential to help mitigate UV damage.3
Wound healing
Koca et al. assessed the wound healing activity of O. europaea leaf extracts using in vivo wound models and the reference ointment Madecassol (Bayer; Istanbul) for comparison, in 2011. The results showed that the aqueous extract exhibited wound healing properties, with secoiridoid oleuropein (4.6059%) found to be the primary active constituent.2
In a 2014 skin wound–healing investigation in aged male Balb/c mice, Mehraein et al. divided 24 mice, 16 months of age, into control and experimental groups. On days 3 and 7 after incision, collagen fiber deposition was significantly increased and reepithelialization more advanced in the oleuropein group (administered via an intradermal injection once a day), which also experienced decreased cell infiltration. The investigators concluded that oleuropein speeds cutaneous wound healing in mice and may have potential for clinical applications in human would healing from surgery.17
Later that year, the same team investigated the therapeutic effects of oleuropein on the wounded skin of young male Balb/c mice, finding similar results, with the phenolic compound again accelerating reepithelialization, improving collagen fiber synthesis, and augmenting blood flow to wound areas via up-regulating VEGF protein expression.4
Hair growth
In 2015, Tong et al. reported that topically applied oleuropein spurred the anagen hair growth phase in telogenic C57BL/6N mouse skin.18 An O. europaea subcutaneous immunotherapy has also demonstrated reductions in cutaneous reactivity, safety, and tolerability in patients with rhinoconjunctivitis.19
Conclusion
The benefits of consuming olives and olive oil are well established and continue to be studied. backed by many years of anecdotal reporting and use in traditional medicine. While the emerging data on the dermatologic uses of the olive phenolic constituent oleuropein are encouraging, much more information, particularly derived from randomized, controlled trials in humans, is necessary to establish the full potential of oleuropein for indications such as wound healing and protection against UV damage.
Dr. Baumann is a private practice dermatologist, researcher, author, and entrepreneur who practices in Miami. She founded the Cosmetic Dermatology Center at the University of Miami in 1997. Dr. Baumann wrote two textbooks: “Cosmetic Dermatology: Principles and Practice” (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002), and “Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients” (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2014), and a New York Times Best Sellers book for consumers, “The Skin Type Solution” (New York: Bantam Dell, 2006). Dr. Baumann has received funding for advisory boards and/or clinical research trials from Allergan, Evolus, Galderma, and Revance. She is the founder and CEO of Skin Type Solutions Franchise Systems. Write to her at [email protected].
References
1. Baumann LS, Weisberg EM. “Olive oil in botanical cosmeceuticals.” Olives and Olive Oil in Health and Disease Prevention. New York: Academic Press, 2010.
2. Koca U et al. J Med Food. 2011 Jan-Feb;14(1-2):140-6.
3. Perugini P et al. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2008 Apr;30(2):113-20.
4. Mehraein F et al. Wounds. 2014 Mar;26(3):83-8.
5. Imran M et al. J Food Sci. 2018 Jul;83(7):1781-91.
6. Kishikawa A et al. Phytother Res. 2015 Jun;29(6):877-86.
7. Zheng J et al. Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi. 2016 Feb;41(4):613-8.
8. Salucci S et al. J Dermatol Sci. 2015 Oct;80(1):61-8.
9. Jeon S, Choi M. Biomed Dermatol. 2018;2:21.
10. Imran M et al. J Food Sci. 2018 Jul;83(7):1781-91.
11. Visioli F et al. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1998 Jun 9;247(1):60-4.
12. Polišak N et al. Phytother Res. 2019 Oct 27. doi: 10.1002/ptr.6524.
13. Aissa I et al. Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2017 Jul;64(4):579-89.
14. Kimura Y, Sumiyoshi M. J Nutr. 2009 Nov;139(11):2079-86.
15. Sumiyoshi M, Kimura Y. Phytother Res. 2010 Jul;24(7):995-1003.
16. John DNS et al. JKIMSU. 2019 Jan-Mar;8(1):43-51.
17. Mehraein F et al. Cell J. 2014 Feb 3;16(1):25-30.
18. Tong T et al. PLoS One. 2015 Jun 10;10(6):e0129578.
19. Saenza De San Pedro B et al. Eur All Allergy Clin Immunol. 2019 Nov 27. doi: 10.23822/EurAnnACI.1764-1489.124.