Science has long stalked the chemical world within plants to uncover their amazing healing secrets. Lately, these investigations have yielded discovery after discovery of natural compounds with promising health and medical potential.

Some of these compounds stimulate the production of anti-cancer enzymes in the body. Others bind and neutralize certain carcinogenic chemicals. Other have antioxidant effects, protecting the body from oxidation damage caused by harmful molecular fragments known as free radicals that contribute to aging and illness.

These natural compunds are found abundantly in roots, stems, leaves, fruits and vegetables. They go by a variety of scientific names like polyphenols, flavonoids, flavonols, pycnogenols, glucosinolates, isoprenoids, carotenoids, tocotrienols and proanthocyanadins. To keep things simple and pronounceable, we will just call them phytochemicals or phytonutrients. Phyto stems from the Greek word for plant.

The volume of current research is intense. Some experts say these compounds may offer the best protection we know of against the diseases that plague us today. There's much yet to learn about the tissue-specific way they work. But with time, these phytonutrients, in the form of supplements or medical preparations, may play a major role in anti-aging medicine and how we prevent and treat disease.

Among the many phytochemicals that have interested me, as a clinician, is oleuropein (pronounced oh-lee-or-oh-pin), a substance found in the olive leaf. I, as well as other health practitioners, have found that a natural supplement of olive leaf extract contains substantial medicinal benefits. Among them, boosting the energy among patients and aiding in the treatment of herpes and other viral conditions, flu and colds, fungal infections, chronic fatigue and allergies. I have also been surprised by unexpected results generated by this supplement.

After the Great Flood we didn't hear too much about the olive leaf for a long time. Obviously this was a hard act to follow.

In a much later biblical time (Ezekiel 47 : 12), God speaks of a tree: "The fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."

Was it the olive tree?

In Revelations, at the very end of the New Testament, there is an angelic vision of a "tree of life" whose leaves "were for the healing of the nations." Today, as modern medicine increasingly embraces phytochemicals it is interesting to speculate about the biblical "tree of life."

Again, was it perhaps the olive tree?

Decades later, scientists isolated a bitter substance from the leaf and named it oleuropein. It was found to be one ingredient in a compound produced by the olive tree that makes it particularly robust and resistant against insect and bacterial damage. From a technical angle, oleuropein is an iridoid, a structural class of chemical compounds found in plants. It is present in olive oil, throughout the olive tree, and is, in fact, the bitter material that is eliminated from the olives when they are cured.

In 1962, an Italian researcher reported that oleuropein lowered blood pressure in animals. This triggered a flurry of scientific interest in the olive leaf.

Other European researchers confirmed this interesting finding. In addition, they found it could also increase blood flow in the coronary arteries, relieve arrhythmias, and prevent intestinal muscle spasms.

Around this time, a Dutch researcher determined the active ingredient in oleuropein to be a substance he called elenolic acid. It was found to have a powerful anti-bacterial effect.

By the late 1960's, research by scientists at Upjohn, a major American pharmaceutical company, showed that elenolic acid also inhibited the growth of viruses. In fact, it stopped every virus that it was tested against. Among others, the substance was found to counteract a variety of viruses associated with the common cold of humans.

Moreover, a number of laboratory experiments at this time with calcium elenolate, a salt of elenolic acid, demonstrated a strong effect against not just viruses, but bacteria and parasitic protozoans as well.

The compound worked effectively at low concentrations without any harmful influence on host cell mechanisms, the American researchers concluded. That meant they believed it to be extremely safe and non-toxic, even at high doses.

Following test tube experiments, the pharmaceutical company launched animal tests. Experiments showed the compound was indeed extremely well tolerated. There was a hitch, however. In the body of an animal, the substance rapidly attached to protein in blood serum. For all intents and purposes, this meant calcium elenolate was of no use. The binding action essentially took it "out of action," rendering it ineffective. As a result of this obstacle, research into the compound as a potential virus and bacteria killing pharmaceutical drug was dropped.

Nevertheless, research and interest in olive leaf extracts has moved forward, primarily in Europe. Among the most recent findings are these:

* In a series of experiments, oleuropein was found to inactivate bacteria by apparently dissolving the outer lining of microbes.

* At the University of Milan Pharacological Sciences, researchers found that oleuropein inhibited oxidation of low-density lipoproteins, the so-called "bad cholesterol" involved in heart and aterial disease. This revelation, if confirmed by further research, suggests that oleuropein may contain antioxidant properties similar to other phytochemical compounds. Medical researcher Morton Walker, D.P.M., writing about olive leaf extract in the July 1996 issue of the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, comments that the intake of flavonoids "is correlated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease indicated that the daily intake of olive oil and/or olive leaf extract containing phenols will likely bring on a similar result." At the present time, the cardiovascular research community is excited about such actions. Studies have shown that some phytochemicals can reduce the harmful oxidation of cholesterol as well as slow down the accelerated clumping of blood platelets that can lead to dangerous clots.

* At Spain's University of Granada, pharmacologists determined that olive leaf extract causes relaxation of arterial walls in laboratory animals. Such results suggest a possible benefit for hypertension, an effect first mentioned by researchers more than 30 years ago.

* In Tunis, researchers found that aqueous extract of olive leaves reduced hypertension, blood sugar, and the level of uric acid in rodents. This finding again indicates potential in the treatment of hypertension, as well as diabetes and heart disease. An elevated uric acid level is a risk factor for heart disease.

Remember the biochemical snag mentioned earlier -- that elenolic acid binds with proteins in the body to nullify any therapeutic use? The problem has been overcome and the door opened for the development of effective olive leaf extract supplements.

Such products are now available, containing oleuropein and synergistic olive leaf extracts, including flavonoids.

The medicinal firepower is there.

The safety is there.

The added benefit of other phytochemicals is there. In short, we now have an exciting new herbal with a promising future.

Also see Olive Leaf Extract.

"I became ill with the flu in February and had several immune boosters, extra vitamins and three antibiotics. My fever was 102-103 every afternoon and this continued even after the antibiotics. I developed paralyzing chest and abdominal pain, being confined to the couch for weeks -- not able to hardly walk. My weight dropped to 84 pounds. Medical tests revealed nothing specifically wrong. I started taking olive leaf extract on July 18. Within a few days my temperature started dropping and it is slowly and steadily going down, so that some days I haven't needed to take Tylenol to reduce it. The pain is subsiding gradually and my appetite and strength is returning."

At the time of her next medical examination, the woman's temperature had been normal for a week. She hadn't needed pain-killers for two weeks.

I received a striking testimony from an elementary school teacher with a history of asthma and vulnerability to colds and flu. She felt that olive leaf extract fortified her against the constant exposure to germs circulating throughout her classroom.

"I used to get sick all the time," she told me. "One school year I got strep throat eight times. If you sneezed at me, the chances are I would get sick. Not any more. When many kids in my class were coughing, sneezing, and blowing their noses before Christmas, I caught a slight cold and that's it."

Informal, preliminary reports are promising.

Mark Konlee, editor of "Positive Health News," a newletter on alternative treatments that circulates widely in the AIDS community, has reported exciting initial results with olive leaf extract, either in the tablet supplement form or directly as a tea brewed from leaves, in combination with other ingredients.

Those other ingredients, according to Konlee, have been found to be highly beneficial over the years. They include:

* Naltrexone, an immune-stabilizing drug used in the treatment of heroin and alcohol addiction. Clinical trials conducted by Bernard Bihari, MD, a New York City physician specializing in HIV/AIDS, demonstrated that this preparation stops the progression of the disease and the decline of the immune system in a majority of patients who take it regularly. Naltrexone stimulates key hormones regulating the immune system and the communication between the brain and immune function. No side effects have been reported.

* DNCB (dinitrochlorobenzene), a chemical used in photography labs that is applied in small doses on the skin. This compound acts as anti-viral agent by stimulating killer cell activity. An estimated 7,000 patients with AIDS have used this substance for some 10 years.

* A blend of olive oil/whole lemon juice. This "grassroots" recipe appears to be uniquely helpful in reversing neuropathy, swollen lymph nodes and wasting syndrome associated with the HIV.

For more specifics on this approach, interested individuals may contact "Keep Hope Alive," P.O. Box 27041, West Allis, WI 53227, or by phone at 414-548-4344.

Konlee reports that the combination, with added olive leaf extract, "has producted stunning results," including viral loads dropping dramatically within a month. Among the cases he describes are these:

1. A patient had been using Naltrexone since October 1995 along with weekly topical applications of DNCB. He had not used the olive oil/lemon juice blend. In August of that year he had had a CD8 count of 700. CD8 refers to killer T cells, which, along with so-called Natural Killer cells, are major immune destroyers of virus infected cells. They reduce viral loads and inhibit damage to the body's defenses. In January of 1996, his CD8 count had risen to 1380. In March of 1996 he added olive leaf extract at the standart dose of one capsule four times daily. He initially experienced a mild headache, a probably "die-off effect." Within days, he reported a significant increase in energy along with the disappearance of swollen lymph nodes. He said he felt 20 years younger. On March 21, his CD8 count had soared to 1920! His physician said never before in his career had he seen such improvement in an AIDS patient.

2. One patient reported that after finishing a bottle of olive leaf extract, one of three Kaposi Sarcoma lesions on his chest vanished. He experienced headaches and flu-like symptoms for about two weeks, again a probable "die-off effect." Continuing with a second bottle, he said the second lesion was completely gone and the last one was "fading fast." His HIV viral load, as measured by PCR technology, had dropped from 160,000 to 30,000 in two months. Soon afterward, he reported that his PCR results for HIV were now down to 692.

3. An HIV patient reported his genital herpes vanished within four days of starting on the olive leaf extract.

4. Another patient with Kaposi's Sarcoma and retinitis added five capsules of olive leaf extract daily along with Naltrexone and DNCB. After doing this, he said that the sarcoma lesions stopped growing. This prompted him to stop two drugs he had been taking -- Ganciclovir and Biaxin -- because of severe intestinal side effects. A few days after discontinuing the drugs, his digestion returned to normal. He soon reported improved vision and that lesions were becoming lighter in color.

5. One patient took the olive leaf extract by itself for about 3 1/2 months. His HIV viral load dropped nearly in half as a result, along with significant improvements in his white blood cell counts. After adding Naltrexone and the lemon/olive oil drink, his improvement accelerated.