Components::

• Leaves: Glycoside oleouropein, tannins, dextrose, , hydrocarbons...
• Fruits: Oil ( mainly formed by oleic acid - unsaturated fat acid - and in less quantity by the acids linoleic palmitic .....

Useful parts:

The leaves, the fruits and the bark.

Medicinal properties.

Internal use:

Hypertension: It decreases blood pressure and it is very useful in cases of arteriosclerosis because it has a vasodilator power to prevent angina pectoris, by expanding the coronary artery ( Infusion of 60 gr. of dry leaves per litre of water .Drink three cups a day)

Diuretic, antiglycemic and hepatic : By increasing urine production , it favors the body to get rid of impurities, being very interesting in case of diabetes, liver inflammation and gallstones (The same infusion seen above would suit in this cases) (It is also a good remedy to drink a couple of teaspoonfuls of virgin olive oil)

Febrifuge: To reduce fever ( Decoction of 60 gr. of dry leaves for a quarter of an hour . Drink three cups a day) ( Maceration of 60 gr. of bark in 250 gr. of alcohol. Take 20 drops three times a day:)

Laxative:In case of constipation you can take a couple of teaspoonfuls of raw olive oil in the morning before having breakfast.

Hemorrhoids: Bark is used in this occasion (decoction of 30gr. per liter of water. Wash the affected zone)

Anti-cholesterol : Because the richness of olive oil in unsaturated fats, it is recommended its use as a edible oil to fight cholesterol, favoring the absorption of vitamins E, A, D y K.

External use:

Dermatological:To treat wounds, or whatever skin disease ( Mix olive oil with black wine and honey. Put on the skin. Also a decoction of 30 gr. of dry leaves per litre of water . Wash the affected skin.)

It is very well known in this sense the famous Samaritan balm which is formed by mixing in equal parts olive oil, white wine and yolk. Beat all the components till a paste is formed to apply it on the skin.)

Another uses:

Edible: From the olive tree we generally use the fruit ( Olive ) in two different ways::

• To eat them pickled, that's to say in a suitable treatment to remove their acidity to make them edible. This is done by a procedure that consists in putting the olives into a caustic soda bath to extract the acidity. They must be preserved in brine afterwards. ( highly concentrated salty solution). They can also be eaten uncooked . To make this possible, after picking the up, before being ripe, they must be smashed and put in water that must be changed daily for ten days. Then they can be preserved in brine and seasoned according to one`s taste. There are different ways of doing it: with herbs ( fennel, laurel, etc.) or adding some spices such as garlic or pepper, for instance.

  To eat olives at the beginning of a meal produces a stimulation of the digestive tract, but , taking into consideration their high salty content, it is not very suitable to eat many, specially in cases of hypertension or obesity.

• To extract the olive oil that can be done in two ways:

  - By physical means (By squashing and centrifugating the fruit. By this process oil flows into some containers. Using this method different kinds of oils are obtained : extra virgin olive oil - with a maximum of 1% in oleic acid - , virgin olive oil - with a maximum of 2 %. Oil containing more than 3,3 % is called rampant oil and can not be used as an edible oil.(It was used to burn candles)

  - By chemical means: Using solvents which gave way to the so called refined oils.

  No matter which method is used, the waste non-edible products are used to fertilize fields.

Solvent: Because of the solving properties of olive oil, it is a suitable means to solve the plant properties.

Picking-up and storing: Leaves and bark can be collected throughout the year. Olives in autumn or winter. Leaves and bark must be dried and kept in a dry, well.- closed container..