Sea Buckthorn
Overview of an Herbal Panacea
Family: Elaegnaceae
Sea buckthorn is a deciduous, thorny shrub that produces yellow-green flowers in the spring followed by orange fruit that are a lot like passion fruit but more sour and astringent. It grows all over Asia and Europe, preferring mountain slopes, high altitude meadows, river banks, and seashores. One must be careful not to confuse Sea Buckthorn for other plants with "buckthorn" in their common names. For instance, the herb Rhamnus purshiana is often referred to as cascara sagrada, or California buckthorn and has dramatically different effects on human physiology.
Healing Constituents of Sea Buckthorn
Fruit, oil, bark, branches, and leaves of sea buckthorn are used in several Asian healing systems. The fruits contain vitamin C, E, caratenoids, flavones, palmitic, oleic, and palmitoleic acids. The seeds are high in linoleic, alpha-linolenic, and oleic acid. The leaves and branches are also good sources of essential oils and flavones, having recently been investigated for their anticancer properties.
Physiological Effects
Sea Buckthorn has exhibited these properties in vitro and in clinical trials:
- Antibiotic properties
- Addressed atopic dermatitis, burns
- May decrease platelet aggregation
- Increase high-density lipoprotein levels
- Liver-protection and support
- lnhibitory effect on angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)
- Reduction of damage induced by radiation therapy
- Anticancer activity
- Antiulcer activity
- Cardiovascular support
When researching Sea Buckthorn, one often comes across stories of how the ancient Greeks fed this plant to their horses to support their health and maintain a glossy coat. In fact, Hippophae means “shining horse”.
Dosages
For general health recommendations vary and several parts of the plant are used. The leaves have been infused as a tea, seed-oil is often incorporated in capsules, and the berry oil may be dosed in “dropperfulls”. Seed oil may also be applied topically to treat conditions like atopic dermatitis.
Toxicity
All parts of sea buckthorn have been used throughout Asia and Europe and are assumed to be nontoxic. In animal studies, different types of solvent extracts of the fruit, seeds, and leaves have been found to be nontoxic at very high levels.
Contraindications and Considerations
- Interactions with ACE inhibitors like lisinopril
- Interactions with anticoagulants
- May act in synergistic fashion or decrease effects of anticancer medications
- Lack of data regarding safety during pregnancy and lactation
Industry Considerations
Sea buckthorn is an important industry in China, Russia, and other parts of Asia. In China, fruit from over 2 million acres of wild and cultivated plants are harvested each year. This material is incorporated into many types of products like cosmetics, drugs, and skin lotions. Besides being a productive crop, this plant is also a hardy grower, used to protect disturbed areas against erosion.
Supplemental Resource: tc-biodiversity.org/sample-buckthorn.pdf
Sea Buckthorn Fruit
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