Oleuropein is a secoiridoid glycoside that is the methyl ester of 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran-5-carboxylic acid which is substituted at positions 2, 3, and 4 by hydroxy, ethylidene, and carboxymethyl groups, respectively and in which the anomeric hydroxy group at position 2 has been converted into its beta-D-glucoside and the carboxylic acid moiety of the carboxymethyl substituent has been converted to the corresponding 3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl ester (the 2S,3E,4S stereoisomer). The most important phenolic compound present in olive cultivars. It has a role as an antioxidant, an antineoplastic agent, an antihypertensive agent, a radical scavenger, a nutraceutical, an anti-inflammatory agent, an apoptosis inducer, a NF-kappaB inhibitor and a plant metabolite. It is a beta-D-glucoside, a methyl ester, a member of pyrans, a member of catechols, a secoiridoid glycoside and a diester.