Olive in the point of Traditional Iranian Medicine Based on the book of al- Shamel al- Tebbiyeh of hakim GHarshi

Background and To understand the importance of the olive it is enough to know that it has been mentioned in seven verses of the Holy Quran. Olive belongs to the Oleaceae family. Fruits, leaves, branches, gums and the oil of this plant are used for eating and healing. Moreover, it has an oily mass which helps the plant to stay green without losing leaves. Diet based on olive or its oil due to high unsaturated fatty acids, reduces the risks of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity.
Methods and Materials: This article reviews the way of introduction of herbal medicine in Traditional Iranian Medicine especially in “al-shamel” the great and unique reference of herbals and other main references like the “Makhzan-al-advia” and “Tohfeh al-momenin”. In addition related recent scientific researches due to olive are discussed.
Most parts of olive tree especially leaves and fruits have the taste of “ofusat” and “ghobuzat” which are responsible for their main traits and functions. According to the kind of olive and the degree of fruit ripening, constitutional matters of olives are different which leads to fundamental differences in nature and function. The nature of unripe olives is cold and dry while ripe olives are warm and dry. Having processed olives (in salt or vinegar) with food strengthen the stomach and extraction of leaves heals mouth and teeth diseases. Having enough scientific knowledge of the nature and attribute of different parts of olive plant, leads to use it as a food or drug without side effects resulting from inappropriate way and amount of consumption.