Studies on phenol extraction using water at high temperatures demonstrated that it is an efficient method for the recovery of high-value natural bioactive compounds . This high temperature effect could be attributed both to the nature of the matrix and structure of the bioactive compounds to be extracted . Microwave-assisted extraction for oleuropein from olive leaves was first described by Japón-Luján et al in 2006 , and Da Rosa described microwave extraction coupled to HPLC-DAD for the determination of oleuropein in olive leaves. The procedure required strict control of extraction conditions as the extraction time was 2-3 minutes, and it was necessary to rapidly cool the samples in an ice bath . However, since this approach has grown in popularity for the extraction of oleuropein from olive leaves , the starting point for this study was based an extraction method described by Martinez-Navarro, where olive leaves were extracted in water using a domestic microwave at 800 W for 30 seconds . Approximately 100 mg of powdered oleuropein leaves were placed in a test tube with 4 mL of water and microwaved using the conditions described above. Comparaison with the control showed that microwaving was effective in extractng oleuropein from the leaves, but this caused the contents of the test-tubes to rise rapidly, probably due to uneaven heating in the domestic microwave.