Autumn olive is a shrub in the family Elaeagnaceae. In Türkiye, it is also known by names meaning “Japanese oleaster,” “sacred olive” and “autumn olive.” It is a deciduous, thorny plant with dense foliage. Its four-parted flowers are yellowish-white and fragrant.
The deciduous autumn olive plant is a thorny plant species with an increasingly dense accumulation of leaves. The flowers of the autumn olive have four divisions, are yellow-white and fragrant.
Generally, autumn olive fruits ripen in September or October. Elaeagnus umbellata plant can survive even in the most infertile soils, as it can store atmospheric nitrogen through actinomycetes in its roots. Therefore, it also increases the fertility of the soil. The autumn olive plant can quickly grow in all conditions except shade and wetlands and loves the sun.
It is known that autumn olive grows naturally in Southern Europe and East Asia. It is a shrub-shaped plant that sheds its leaves in winter and can grow up to 6 meters tall and 9 meters wide. It is also considered a member of the small tree class. The autumn olive bush has an oval structure thanks to its dense branches.
Alongside its edible fruits, autumn olive is used as an ornamental plant and to stabilize slopes on uneven ground or beside roads. Its use in landscaping has become increasingly popular.
Its ability to protect and enrich soil makes it useful for planting on infertile land and in agroforestry.
Interestingly, the autumn olive plant was brought to America from its homeland of China, Korea and Japan in the 1800s for erosion control. Later, when its nutritional value was revealed, its production was encouraged and started growing in many places. In other words, the factor that initially caused it to spread worldwide was not the nutritional value of the fruit, but the plant was a natural method of fighting against erosion.
However, the autumn olive plant can quickly spread through the seeds in fruits consumed by birds and other mammals. Therefore, if left uncontrolled, it has the potential to invade its area easily.
Health Benefits of Autumn Olive Fruit
Autumn olive fruit can be consumed fresh or dried. It is also used to make fruit leather, fruit juice, jam, jelly and sauce or as an additive to these products. As it became clear that autumn olive fruit has important health benefits and is a good energy source, its leaves, roots and flowers began to be used in the pharmaceutical industry.
Autumn olive fruit is very rich in nutritional value. Since it contains high amounts of phytochemicals, especially antioxidants, it has the potential to become an important part of balanced and healthy diet practices.
Regarding nutritional content, the first thing that comes to mind when discussing autumn olives is “lycopene.” It is stated that 100 grams autumn olive fruit contains 7 to 17 times more lycopene than the same amount of tomatoes. As it is known, tomatoes are among the fruits/vegetables richest in lycopene. While there is approximately 3 mg lycopene in 100 grams tomato, this value is 58 mg in autumn olive.
Lycopene is a type of pigment from the class of carotenoids, found naturally in fruits and vegetables. As a result of the research, it was determined that lycopene actively prevents lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and heart tissue degeneration. Lycopene is found especially abundant in tomatoes, watermelon, and pink grapefruit. Many studies have shown that lycopene protects against various types of cancer, including myocardial infarction and prostate cancer. (For more detailed information about the health benefits of lycopene and rich foods, see Lycopene; Health Benefits and Rich Foods).
Scientific studies show that autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is an excellent source of lycopene as well as many other nutrients and phytochemical compounds. For example, many studies have shown that it is a fruit rich in vitamins A, C and E, essential fatty acids, flavonoids, β-carotene and protein, which are known to be very important for health. In addition, it is reported that autumn olive fruit is rich in calcium, boron, potassium, carbohydrates, copper, phosphorus, fiber, fat, folic acid, iron, magnesium, manganese, tryptophan and zinc.
Autumn olive is also an excellent source of antioxidants in terms of its properties and contents and has antimicrobial characteristics. Based on this, it is a food that can reduce the likelihood of some types of cancer.
Moreover, it is thought to be a regulator of blood cholesterol levels and to reduce and suppress the adverse effects of cholesterol on the cardiovascular system. Additionally, it is reported that it strengthens the immune system and helps regenerate cells.
Although autumn olive has just become known in many countries, it is stated that it has been used in its homeland for a very long time and is used in treating certain diseases. Many studies indicate that it is used in Chinese traditional folk medicine to treat asthma, cough, hemorrhoids, bad breath, joint inflammation, itching, traumatic injuries, general body aches, muscle pain, loss of strength in the hands and feet, digestive difficulties and diarrhea. In addition, it is reported that it is good for the lungs.
In light of the information mentioned above, it turns out that autumn olives are one of the prominent functional foods today when healthy and disease-preventing eating habits are increasing tremendously. It is predicted that the interest in such foods will increase day by day.
Today, autumn olive has managed to attract attention with its new varieties, natural characteristics and potential economic value. Recently, autumn olive plant cultivation has increased in many countries outside its homeland and attempts are being made to bring it into cultivation and turn it into an industrial/economic product.
Along with the breeding studies of this fruit, the focus has been on developing cultivation methods and increasing the yield amount. These studies aim to ensure that it is among the fruits with high added value in terms of functional quality. In the next stage, thanks to new processes, it can be processed into new food products and its consumption in different products can be increased.
It is known that autumn olive plants can grow spontaneously in many geographical regions of the world. For this reason, many countries aim to contribute to their own economy and food industry by increasing autumn olive production and yield. In this regard, encouraging practices are carried out in many countries. Autumn olive fruit is anticipated to be offered to people in different forms or processed into other products in the coming period.
Many studies show that wild fruits have many important properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory (pain relieving, antipyretic), antimicrobial, and anti-cancer activities. This means that wild fruits have the potential to be used as functional food or medicine to prevent or treat various chronic diseases. However, wild fruits face challenges with acceptability and accessibility, as well as lack of interest and even neglect. In this regard, studies need to be carried out to bring wild products from where they grow to our tables. Autumn olive stands out as a fruit that should be known in all its aspects and its consumption should be widespread.
Note: This article is intended solely for general informational purposes. It is not medical advice or personalized nutritional guidance. Nutritional needs may vary from person to person. Always consult a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian before making any changes to your diet.
References
Bvenura, C., & Sivakumar, D. (2017). The role of wild fruits and vegetables in delivering a balanced and healthy diet. Food Research International, 99(Part 1), 15–30.
Bayraktar, A., Yıldırım, N., Atar, F., & Turna, İ. (2018). Effects of some auxins on propagation by hardwood cutting of Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.). Turkish Journal of Forestry Research, 5(2), 112–116.
Çakır, Ö., Yıldız, H., Tüysüz, B., & Karataş, N. (2019). Evaluation of Lycopene Content in the Elaeagnus umbellata Thunb.. 3rd International Conference on Advanced Engineering Technologies, 19–21 September 2019, Bayburt, Türkiye.
Fordham, I. M., Clevidence, B. A., Wiley, E. R., & Zimmerman, R. H. (2001). Fruit of Autumn Olive: A Rich Source of Lycopene. HortScience, 36(6), 1136–1137.
Munger, G. T. (2003). Elaeagnus umbellata, autumn-olive. Fire Effects Information System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.
Özlem Çakır
Ozlem Cakir, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Bayburt University’s Faculty of Engineering, where she works in the Division of Food Sciences within the Department of Food Engineering. She received her B.Sc. in Plant Production from Atatürk University in 2003 and completed both her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Fruit Growing and Breeding at the same university in 2006 and 2012, respectively. Her formally recognised academic specialisation is Fruit Growing and Breeding within the broader field of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
Dr. Cakir has more than twenty years of academic, research, and professional experience in horticulture, fruit science, food processing, and nutrition. From 2010 to 2013, she worked as an agricultural engineer at the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock. She subsequently served as Deputy Director of a Research and Application Centre at Bayburt University between 2013 and 2014. Her background enables her to approach fruits and plant-derived foods from both agricultural production and food-processing perspectives.
Her research focuses particularly on cultivated and wild fruits, fruit genetic resources, fruit growing and breeding, biochemical characterisation, phenolic compounds, antioxidants, mineral composition, bioactive plant constituents, extraction processes, drying technologies, and the use of fruit extracts and processing by-products in food systems. Her studies have examined species and genotypes of Berberis, Rosa, Crataegus, Malus, Sorbus, Hippophae, Diospyros, Punica, blackberry, mulberry, loquat, cherry laurel, tea, apricot, grapevine, and other horticultural crops.
Her university profile currently lists 32 peer-reviewed research articles, 20 of which were published in SCI-Expanded-indexed journals. Her work has appeared in journals including Food Chemistry, the Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, Food Science & Nutrition, Sustainability, the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, Scientia Horticulturae, Applied Fruit Science, and the Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization. She has also contributed to two chapters in an international scientific book addressing agricultural resource use and sustainability.
Dr. Cakir has presented or co-authored 47 national and international conference contributions, including 42 international papers or presentations. These studies cover fruit cultivation and breeding, wild fruit biodiversity, antioxidant activity, phenolic profiles, mineral composition, organic agriculture, drying and extraction methods, food-processing technologies, and the use of plant-derived bioactive compounds in food products.
She has participated in eight scientific research projects as a project leader, researcher, or scholarship holder. Her project work has included the characterisation of wild pomegranate and apricot-plum genetic resources; the biochemical and antioxidant properties of wild apple, Berberis, Rosa, and other regional fruits; the optimisation of extraction conditions for aromatic plants; the use of fruit extracts as natural antioxidants in meat products; the application of Berberis fruit in ice cream; and the characterisation of exopolysaccharides produced by lactic acid bacteria. She has also supervised nine master’s theses, seven of which are recorded as completed, on subjects including wild fruits, phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, pectin extraction, food safety systems, nutritional habits, fermentation, and functional food ingredients.
Her teaching experience includes undergraduate and graduate courses in Fruit and Vegetable Processing Technology, Fruit and Vegetable Juice Technology, Beverage Technology, Fruit and Vegetable Drying Technology, Food-Derived Antioxidants, Methods for Determining Antioxidant Activity in Foods, Sensory Evaluation of Foods, Food and Nutrition, Nutrition Principles, Organic Agriculture, Food Packaging, Special Foods Technology, and Industrial Food Waste and By-products.
As an author for Gıda ve Sağlık, Dr. Cakir contributes her expertise in fruit science, wild and cultivated fruits, antioxidants, phenolic compounds, food processing, organic agriculture, and nutrition to the preparation of scientifically grounded and accessible articles for an international readership.