THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF OLIVE TREE (OLEA EUROPAEA L.) IN THE NUTRITIONAL, PHARMACEUTICAL AND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION: A REVIEW

Abstract

Olea europaea L. (olive tree / zaitoon tree / zaitoon) belong to family Oleaceae. This is a valuable and an economically commercial oil woody shrub or small evergreen tree plant species and especially popular in diet of people of Mediterranean region. The olive tree oil is extracted from the fruit of O. europaea and used for cooking, agricultural, biological, biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, toxicology, food technology, pharmaceutical sciences, agro-food sector and environmental sustainability. The whole parts (leaves, branches, fruit) of this plant traditionally used and cultivated for food and medicine in Europe, Mediterranean, warm temperate region, Asian, African, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Tunisian regions and in different parts of Pakistan. O. europaea also provide an excellent material of polyphenol, abundant unsaturated fatty acids and flavonoids. O. europaea seedling also possesses different types of resistance and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. There are several publications available which has highlighted the influence of waste product, polluted and contaminated air, water and soil on olive tree growth. O. europaea also contains many bioactive compounds and oil have been reported to control many ailments. A lot of work has been published on the biological compounds derived from olive tree in recent years for the treatment of different diseases. The potential of O. europaea plant extract showed antidiabetic, anticancer, asthma, cholesterol, uric acid, diarrhea, inflammation, blood pressure, antiheart and antiarthritis treatment. This review study was aimed to assess the beneficial characteristics of olive tree in terms of its nutritional, pharmaceutical properties and application in industries. The outcome will help to researchers working in the field of the nutritional, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors for examining the fruitful results. The 650 research articles were searched for review and 166 were selected using electronic search engine likewise google, google scholar, research society and development and science direct.

Keywords

• antioxidant
• antidiabetic
• cultivar
• environmental pollution
• industrial activities
• oleuropein
• olive tree
• photosynthesis
• zaitoon tree