Exploring the Antimicrobial Potential of Olive Leaves; Alternative to Antibiotics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66553/japr.2026.127Keywords:
Antimicrobial potential, Olive leaf extract, Phenolic compoundsAbstract
Olive leaves are rich source of phenolic compounds that have strong biological and antimicrobial effects. In the current global antimicrobial resistance threat, the search for alternatives to antibiotics is increasing. Olive leaf has been studied as an important cost-effective medicinal source of natural antimicrobials. This present review reports on current findings on the most isolated phenolic compounds from olive leaf extract with their antimicrobial potential and factors influencing the phenolic profile. This paper uses recent research studies with a wide range of experimental models to describe the antimicrobial potential of these phenolic compounds. It also describes the vast range of information about methods used to asses antimicrobial potential focusing on effects on different microbes. Furthermore, the review highlights the values of olive leaves as an agricultural and industrial byproduct, discussing their availability, therapeutic, nutritional benefits and research studies supporting their use.
References
Magyari-Pavel, I. Z., Moacă, E. A., Avram, Ș., Diaconeasa, Z., Haidu, D., Ștefănuț, M. N., ... & Danciu, C. (2024). Antioxidant extracts from Greek and Spanish olive leaves: antimicrobial, anticancer and antiangiogenic effects. Antioxidants, 13(7), 774.
. Crucitti, D., Carimi, F., Caruso, T., & Pacifico, D. (2025). Microbial Allies in the Olive Canopy: Endophyte Composition, Drivers, and their Role in Plant Protection. Microbial Ecology, 89,25.
[ 3] Borjan, D., Leitgeb, M., Knez, Ž., & Hrnčič, M. K. (2020). Microbiological and antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds in olive leaf extract. Molecules, 25(24), 5946.
. Gonçalves, A. C., Nunes, A. R., Falcão, A., Alves, G., & Silva, L. R. (2021). Dietary effects of anthocyanins in human health: A comprehensive review. Pharmaceuticals, 14(7), 690.
. Shen, N., Wang, T., Gan, Q., Liu, S., Wang, L., & Jin, B. (2022). Plant flavonoids: Classification, distribution, biosynthesis, and antioxidant activity. Food chemistry, 383, 132531.
. Makarewicz, M., Drożdż, I., Tarko, T., & Duda-Chodak, A. (2021). The interactions between polyphenols and microorganisms, especially gut microbiota. Antioxidants, 10(2), 188.
. Yuan, G., Guan, Y., Yi, H., Lai, S., Sun, Y., & Cao, S. (2021). Antibacterial activity and mechanism of plant flavonoids to gram-positive bacteria predicted from their lipophilicities. Scientific reports, 11(1), 10471.
. Granados-Principal, S., Quiles, J. L., Ramirez-Tortosa, C. L., Sanchez-Rovira, P., & Ramirez-Tortosa, M. C. (2010). Hydroxytyrosol: from laboratory investigations to future clinical trials. Nutrition reviews, 68(4), 191-206.
. Sudjana, A. N., D’Orazio, C., Ryan, V., Rasool, N., Ng, J., Islam, N., ... & Hammer, K. A. (2009). Antimicrobial activity of commercial Olea europaea (olive) leaf extract. International journal of antimicrobial agents, 33(5), 461-463.
. Erdohan, Z. O., & Turhan, K. N. (2011). Olive leaf extract and usage for development of antimicrobial food packaging. Science against microbial pathogens: communicating current research and technological advances A. Méndez-Vilas (Ed.), 1094-1101.
. Talhaoui, N., Vezza, T., Gómez-Caravaca, A. M., Fernandez-Gutierrez, A., Galvez, J., & Segura-Carretero, A. (2016). Phenolic compounds and in vitro immunomodulatory properties of three Andalusian olive leaf extracts. Journal of Functional Foods, 22, 270-277.
. Lee, O. H., & Lee, B. Y. (2010). Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of individual and combined phenolics in Olea europaea leaf extract. Bioresource Technology, 101(10), 3751-3754.
. Testa, B., Lombardi, S. J., Macciola, E., Succi, M., Tremonte, P., & Iorizzo, M. (2019). Efficacy of olive leaf extract (Olea europaea L. cv Gentile di Larino) in marinated anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus, L.) process. Heliyon, 5(5).
. Debib, A., & Boukhatem, M. N. (2017). Phenolic content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of “Chemlali” olive leaf (Olea europaea L.) extracts. International Journal of Pharmacology, Phytochemistry and Ethnomedicine, 6, 38-46.
. Al-Rimawi, F., Sbeih, M., Amayreh, M., Rahhal, B., & Mudalal, S. (2024). Evaluation of the antibacterial and antifungal properties of oleuropein, olea Europea leaf extract, and thymus vulgaris oil. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 24(1), 297.
. Bayram, M., Topuz, S., Karabıyıklı, S., Elmastas, M., Kaya, C., Erenler, R., & Onaran, A. B. D. U. R. R. A. H. M. A. N. (2022). Isolation of oleuropein from olive leaf by effective method and investigation of its antimicrobial properties. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, 21(1), 215-223.
. Khan, Y., Panchal, S., Vyas, N., Butani, A., & Kumar, V. (2007). Olea europaea: a phyto-pharmacological review. Pharmacognosy Reviews, 1(1), 114-118.
. Ghanbari, R., Anwar, F., Alkharfy, K. M., Gilani, A. H., & Saari, N. (2012). Valuable nutrients and functional bioactives in different parts of olive (Olea europaea L.)A review. International journal of molecular sciences, 13(3), 3291-3340.
. El, S. N., & Karakaya, S. (2009). Olive tree (Olea europaea) leaves: potential beneficial effects on human health. Nutrition reviews, 67(11), 632-638.
. Mohammadi, A., Jafari, S. M., Esfanjani, A. F., & Akhavan, S. (2016). Application of nano-encapsulated olive leaf extract in controlling the oxidative stability of soybean oil. Food chemistry, 190, 513-519.
. Şahin, S., Bilgin, M., & Dramur, M. U. (2011). Investigation of oleuropein content in olive leaf extract obtained by supercritical fluid extraction and soxhlet methods. Separation Science and Technology, 46(11), 1829-1837.
. Jemai, H., Bouaziz, M., Fki, I., El Feki, A., & Sayadi, S. (2008). Hypolipidimic and antioxidant activities of oleuropein and its hydrolysis derivative-rich extracts from Chemlali olive leaves. Chemico-biological interactions, 176(2-3), 88-98.
. Aziz, N., Kim, M. Y., & Cho, J. Y. (2018). Anti-inflammatory effects of luteolin: A review of in vitro, in vivo, and in silico studies. Journal of ethnopharmacology, 225, 342-358.
. Pandurangan, A. K., & Esa, N. M. (2014). Luteolin, a bioflavonoid inhibits colorectal cancer through modulation of multiple signaling pathways: a review. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 15(14), 5501-5508.
. Hameed, H. Q., Hasan, A. A., & Abdullah, R. M. (2019). Effect of Olea europaea Extraction and TiO 2 Nanoparticles against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 10(6).
. Alves, R. C., Contessa, C. R., Moraes, C. C., & Rosa, G. S. D. 2023. Biopolymeric membranes with active principle of olive leaves (Olea europaea L.) for potential topical application. Macromol, 3(2), 314-325.
. Zhang, C., Xin, X., Zhang, J., Zhu, S., Niu, E., Zhou, Z., & Liu, D. (2022). Comparative evaluation of the phytochemical profiles and antioxidant potentials of olive leaves from 32 cultivars grown in China. Molecules, 27(4), 1292.
. Ghomari, O., Sounni, F., Massaoudi, Y., Ghanam, J., Kaitouni, L. B. D., Merzouki, M., & Benlemlih, M. (2019). Phenolic profile (HPLC-UV) of olive leaves according to extraction procedure and assessment of antibacterial activity. Biotechnology Reports, 23, e00347.
. Correa, M., Montalbán-Hernández, C., Navarro-Hortal, M. D., Peña-Guzmán, D., Badillo-Carrasco, A., Varela-López, A., & Romero Márquez, J. M. (2025). Exploring the Influence of Extraction Methods, Solvents, and Temperature on Total Phenolic Recovery and Antioxidant Capacity in Olive Leaf Extracts: A Systematic Review with Quantitative Synthesis. Separations, 12(9), 236.
. Orak, H. H., Karamać, M., Amarowicz, R., Orak, A., & Penkacik, K. (2019). Genotype-related differences in the phenolic compound profile and antioxidant activity of extracts from olive (Olea europaea L.) leaves. Molecules, 24(6), 1130.
. Panou, A. A., & Karabagias, I. K. (2025). Olive leaf extracts as a medicinal beverage: Origin, physico-chemical properties, and bio-functionality. Beverages, 11(3), 66.
. Miho, H., Díez, C. M., Mena-Bravo, A., De Medina, V. S., Moral, J., Melliou, E., ... & Priego-Capote, F. 2018. Cultivar influence on variability in olive oil phenolic profiles determined through an extensive germplasm survey. Food Chemistry, 266, 192-199.
. Aloriby, M., Elkawafi, M., Aldrsy, S., Sweker, M., Elabdeli, H., Elbarghathi, A., ... & Bleiblo, F. (2025). Overall in vitro, in vivo, and in silico evaluation of Olea europaea and Ficus carica leaf extracts for antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens. Frontiers in Microbiology, 16, 1567921.
. Pereira, A. P., Ferreira, I. C., Marcelino, F., Valentão, P., Andrade, P. B., Seabra, R., ... & Pereira, J. A. (2007). Phenolic compounds and antimicrobial activity of olive (Olea europaea L. Cv. Cobrançosa) leaves. Molecules, 12(5), 1153-1162.
. Liu, Y., McKeever, L. C., & Malik, N. S. (2017). Assessment of the antimicrobial activity of olive leaf extract against foodborne bacterial pathogens. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, 113.
. Korukluoglu, M., Sahan, Y., Yigit, A., Ozer, E. T., & GüCER, S. E. R. E. F. (2010). Antibacterial activity and chemical constitutions of Olea europaea L. leaf extracts. Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 34(3), 383-396.
. Pasandideh, N., & Anvari, M. (2018). Study on antimicrobial effects of Olea europaea (Olive) and olive leaf extracts on pathogenic bacteria using Taguchi methodology. International Journal of Molecular and Clinical Microbiology 8(2) (2018) 1039-1047
. Domu, A. J. A., Syamsu, R. F., Karim, M., Hadi, S., & Arfah, A. I. (2025). Literature Review: The Effect of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Olea europaea L.) on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacteria. Healthy Tadulako Journal (Jurnal Kesehatan Tadulako), 11(3), 433-444.
. Shah, A.A., Alwashmi, A.S., Abalkhail, A. and Alkahtani, A.M., 2025. Emerging challenges in Klebsiella pneumoniae: Antimicrobial resistance and novel approach. Microbial pathogenesis, 202, p.107399.
El-Sayed, N. R., Samir, R., Jamil M. Abdel-Hafez, L., & Ramadan, M. A. (2020). Olive leaf extract modulates quorum sensing genes and biofilm formation in multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Antibiotics, 9(9), 526.
