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Hydroxytyrosol (olive extract)
A polyphenol from the olive. It is in two of our formulas, both served at night, preferably with dinner. One authorised EU health claim for olive oil polyphenols sits on the EU register, but it was written for olive oil, not for the form we use, and we would rather show you its condition than leave it out.
WHAT WE ARE ALLOWED TO SAY
One claim. Written for olive oil.
This is the exact wording on the EU register. It comes with a condition: it applies to olive oil that contains at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives per 20 g, and the benefit is tied to 20 g of that olive oil a day. We do not paraphrase it into something that sounds stronger.This is the exact wording on the EU register. It applies to olive oil with at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives per 20 g, taken at 20 g a day.
The condition of use restricts that claim to olive oil: at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives per 20 g of olive oil, with the benefit tied to 20 g of that oil a day. Our formulas are a liquid with an olive leaf extract, not olive oil, so the claim does not apply to them and we do not present it as if it did. The wording is also about blood lipids and oxidative stress. It says nothing about cholesterol levels or the heart, and we do not read either into it.
WHY OLIVE LEAF EXTRACT
One form on file. It is stable in liquid, not in light.
Our file holds a single form: an extract of olive leaves, standardised to at least 40% hydroxytyrosol, which is also the form our EU regulatory record names. It is stable in a liquid, dissolves in oil and tastes neutral. It is sensitive to light and to oxygen, which is a storage question, not a claim argument.
Standardised to at least 40% hydroxytyrosol. The only form in our file, and the one our EU regulatory record names.
Stable in liquid, soluble in oil and neutral in taste. Sensitive to light and to oxygen, so it has to be kept away from both.
75 – 100% of an oral dose is absorbed in our record, and much of it is metabolised on first pass before it leaves through the kidneys. We have no confirmed half-life on file.
The claim is worded for olive oil polyphenols, and our form is an olive leaf extract. We are not going to suggest that the leaf extract works better, or that it earns the claim on its own. It is the form in our file, and that is all we are saying about it.The claim is worded for olive oil polyphenols, and our form is an olive leaf extract. We are not going to suggest that it works better.
WHERE IT APPEARS
Two of the twenty-nine carry hydroxytyrosol.
Both list 25 mg, both are served at night, preferably with dinner, and both sit next to EPA + DHA and coenzyme Q10. The reference in the claim is 5 mg a day of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives, in olive oil.
THE CEILING
No upper limit on file. That is not the same as no limit.
No numerical upper intake level for hydroxytyrosol has been published by EFSA, and none is on file, so there is no ceiling to draw here. The only dose reference we hold is the minimum effective dose, 5 mg a day for adults, taken continuously, which is also the figure in the claim. Both formulas that carry it are served at night, so if both were in your plan, the amounts would add up in the same window.No numerical upper intake level for hydroxytyrosol has been published by EFSA, and none is on file. The only dose reference we hold is the minimum effective dose: 5 mg a day for adults, taken continuously.
The minimum effective dose on file, for adults, taken continuously. Each of the two formulas serves 25 mg, five times that minimum, and no upper limit is on file.
No numerical upper limit is on file. That means the question is still open, not that any amount is fine.
There is not enough data on supplemental doses in pregnancy or breastfeeding. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose. Food supplements should not be used as a substitute for a varied and balanced diet. Keep out of reach of young children. It contains none of the fourteen allergens that must be declared in the EU.
WHAT IT REACTS WITH
No documented pairs yet.
Hydroxytyrosol is one of the 140 ingredients in our library, so it has 139 possible partners. None of them is among the 443 pairs we have documented so far, and no medicine is documented against it either.
No pair with another ingredient is documented for hydroxytyrosol, including the EPA + DHA, coenzyme Q10, vitamin K2 and resveratrol it is served with. That is an open question, not a clean result.
No medicine is documented against it, and the check against the CYP enzymes that break many medicines down is still pending in our file. Treat that as unknown.
Both formulas that carry it are ruled out if you take a vitamin K antagonist such as warfarin. That exclusion comes from the ingredients next to it, not from the hydroxytyrosol. Those ingredients (EPA + DHA and coenzyme Q10 in both formulas, vitamin K2 in Cardiovascular, resveratrol in Oxidative cardiovascular) also carry label warnings for any anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicine, and for bleeding disorders or surgery coming up. They carry other warnings too: coenzyme Q10 and resveratrol ask you to talk to your oncologist before combining them with cancer treatment; resveratrol is contraindicated in pregnancy, breastfeeding and under 18, and needs caution with hormone-dependent cancer; both formulas contain fish, a declared allergen, from the EPA + DHA, and Cardiovascular also contains soy from the vitamin K2. The formula pages list them in full.
443 of the 9,730 possible pairs in our library are documented, which is 4.55%, and none of them involves hydroxytyrosol. The rest are not "safe", they are simply unchecked, and we would rather write that down than let the number look like a badge.443 of the 9,730 possible pairs in our library are documented, which is 4.55%, and none of them involves hydroxytyrosol. The rest are not safe, they are simply unchecked.
SOURCES
Everything on this page, with its reference.
Reviewed by VION nutrition team · last reviewed 16 September 2026
140 INGREDIENTS · 64 IN USE TODAY
Every one of them has a page like this.
What it is, what we are allowed to say about it, which formulas carry it, what it reacts with and where each of those statements comes from. No proprietary blends, no hidden amounts.