Preliminary studies on the extraction of phenolic compounds from olive leaves of Portuguese cultivars

Abstract

Phenolic compounds of olive tree (Olea europaea) are considered one of the responsibles of the health-promoting of Mediterranean diet. Indeed, recent studies on isolated phenolic compounds have found a number of applications in increasing human immune response. The olive leaves, known to be rich in phenolic compounds, are a by-product of pruning and mechanical harvesting of olives. In the present work, started in November 2015, optimization in extraction and in component analysis has been achieved.