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Gayle Scott
I just finished the pancreas module where Doc Jones mentions the medicinal benefits of the olive tree. Does the Russian olive have the same benefits? Russian olive trees grow where I live but not regular olive trees.
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Dr. Patrick Jones
No. Russian olive Elaeagnus angustifolia isn’t an olive (Olea europea) at all…and it isn’t Russian. It’s actually Persian.
It does have some good anti-inflammatory properties. The flesh of the berries (more like a thin coating of sour sawdust than flesh) is quite good for that. I had strong cravings for it and didn’t know whether it was medicinal (though I new I could eat it because the lil’ birdies always do). Anyway, I had a really sore knee and whenever I walked past the Russian olive tree, I really wanted those berries. I’ve been at this long enough to know that listening to those promptings is a good idea, so I ate a bunch. 10 minutes later my knee didn’t hurt anymore. I looked it up in a dusty herb book and, sure enough, it’s been used for centuries for inflammation and pain.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Charlotte Chumlea
In the southeast USA we are over run with the invasive Autumn Olive, a cousin of Russian Olive. Do you know if there are significant differences between the two when used for herbal medicine?
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Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is in the same genus and is also medicinal. It’s apparently a tasty edible as well as long as the berries are ripe enough. I’d never heard of it until you mentioned it. I did a search on Google Scholar and there are quite a lot of articles about its properties. I’ll put it on my list of herbs to do a lesson on once I’ve dug in a bit more.
Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.
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Kelly Pagel
I’d love to learn more about the Autumn Olive. They are taking over our property in Michigan. I’m so pleased to learn they have some value medicinally.
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Lynn Schaal
It is the first week of August…here in Southern Idaho I have little olives on our Russian Olive trees. Do they ripen?…is that the time to use them? …or can they be harvested at this stage and eaten…or made into a tincture?
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Candis Ligocki
That’s good to know. We have one growing on our property line. I love it for it’s beauty, now I’m going to have to take a closer look at it!
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David Noble
Is there any benefit to letting them ripen before eating?
Has anyone tried drying them?
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I believe they must be ripe to be safely ingested. Our berries turn a bright red. I suppose I would dry them if I chose to make a tincture.
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