A bush or a small (3-8 m tall) tree with spiny branches of the olive family. Young shoots are silver-white from star hairs. The leaves are alternate, linear or elongated-lanceolate, entire, silvery. The flowers are bisexual, fragrant, 1-3 each in the axils of the leaves, the perianth is 4-lobed, bell-shaped, yellow inside, silvery outside. The fruit is stone-shaped, yellow, floury. Blooms in June, fruits ripen in August – September.
Distribution . Narrow-leaved olive grows wild in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Throughout the territory of Ukraine, especially in the Steppe and Forest Steppe, it is grown as a phytoremedial and decorative plant.
Procurement and storage . Fruits (Fructus Elaeagni), less often flowers (Flores Elaeagni) and leaves (Folia Elaeagni) are used for medicinal purposes. The flowers are collected when they are fully open; leaves – in June – August; fruits – from the moment of full ripeness until the onset of frost. Fruits are consumed fresh or dried.
The plant is unofficial.
Chemical composition . Olive fruits contain tannins and mucous substances, up to 40% carbohydrates (fructose – 20%, sucrose, glucose), organic acids, proteins (up to 10%), potassium and phosphorus salts. The leaves contain tannins and ascorbic acid (140-350 mg %), and the flowers contain essential oil (about 0.3%).
Pharmacological properties and use . Natural fruits or products made from them (decoction, powder) and dishes (concoction, jelly) are used as astringent and anti-inflammatory agents for diarrhea and catarrh of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, a decoction of fruits is used for diseases of the respiratory tract, for worms and as a diuretic for dropsy. An infusion of flowers is drunk for colds and as a means to improve the work of the heart. Preparations from the dry leaves of the plant are used as a pain reliever for gout and rheumatism, and crushed fresh leaves are applied to purulent wounds. Tincture of fresh ripe fruits is used in homeopathy.
Medicinal forms and applications. Internally – fruit decoction (50 g of raw material per 300 ml of boiling water) 2-3 tablespoons 2-4 times a day before or during meals;
infusion of flowers (2 teaspoons of raw materials are infused for 1 hour in a glass of boiling water) 1 tablespoon 2-4 times a day;
fruit powder (grind the peel and floury part of the fruit) 2-3 tablespoons per dose 2-4 times a day before meals or during meals (children are given 1 teaspoon 3-4 times a day).
Externally , steamed leaves are wrapped in gauze and applied to sore spots to reduce gouty and rheumatic pains.