Omega-7 oil from sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), comprised of both palmitoleic and cis-vaccenic acids, has been used in Chinese and Tibetan medicine for promoting digestive and urogenital health for more than 12 centuries. The berries and seeds of sea buckthorn also deliver representatives of the omega 3, 6 and 9 series. It is thought that our most delicate body tissues, like the skin and the mucous membranes that line the digestive and urogenital tracts, have the greatest affinity for omega-7 fatty acids. Environmental stressors (such as sunlight and pollution), improper foods, and even normal aging can challenge those sensitive membranes, and omega-7 fatty acids are now being hailed as nourishment that may protect, replenish, moisturize, and restore. Constituents also known to add to sea buckthorn's "rescue role" are a naturally occurring rich array of carotenoids, tocopherols, tocotrienols and sterols

Brain Oxygenation: Prevents and Treats Hypoxia

Cerebral edema caused by vascular leakage is a major problem in various injuries of the CNS, such as stroke, head injury and high-altitude illness. A common feature of all these disorders is the fact that they are associated with tissue hypoxia. Hypoxia has been suggested to be a major pathogenic factor for the induction of vascular leakage in the brain. The objective of the present study was to evaluate potential of Seabuckthorn (SBT) (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) seed oil in curtailing hypoxia induced transvascular fluid leakage in brain of hypoxia-exposed rats. Exposure of animals to hypobaric hypoxia (9144m, 5h) caused a significant increase in the transvascular leakage studied by measuring water content and leakage of sodium fluorescein dye in the brain. Hypoxic stress also significantly enhanced the oxidative stress markers such as free radicals and malondialdehyde and it accompanied with decreased levels of antioxidants such as glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase. Pre-treatment of animals with SBT seed oil significantly restricted the hypoxia induced increase in fluorescein dye leakage suggesting protection against hypoxia induced transvascular leakage in the brain. Hypoxia induced increase in the levels of free radicals and malondialdehyde were significantly lowered after SBT pre-treatment. The SBT seed oil pre-treatment also resulted in the significantly improved hypoxic tolerance as evidenced by increased hypoxic gasping time and survival time and decreased plasma catecholamine levels, as compared to hypoxic animals. These observations suggest that SBT seed oil possesses significant hypoxia protection activity and curtailed hypoxia induced enhanced vascular leakage in the brain.1

Cardiovascular

It has significant cardioprotective activity and exerts many positive healing effects on the cardiovascular system, including inhibiting blood platelet activation (especially platelet aggregation), lowering cholesterol concentration and blood pressure, and providing antioxidant activity.

The protective effects of sea buckthorn against cardiovascular diseases operate by a range of mechanisms including decreasing of blood pressure, inhibiting blood platelet aggregation and oxidative stress, and modulating lipid metabolism, including the arachidonic acid metabolism of blood platelets.

Basu et al. (2007) found sea buckthorn seed oil to have significant anti-atherogenic properties when administered to normal albino rabbits and hypercholesterolemic ones fed on a high cholesterol diet for two months; this was based on a comparison of blood triglyceride, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentrations before and after administering 1 ml seed oil.2 They suggest that the cardioprotective effects of the oil may be due to the presence of UFAs, phytosterols and vitamins A and E; these may have synergistic actions on cardiovascular health when given in combination.

Cardiovascular diseases are often correlated with obesity, which may be influenced by the consumption of fruits and vegetables, and their products: i.e. teas, oils, syrups and extracts.3 Lehtonen et al. (2011) suggest that supplementation with sea buckthorn oil for 33–35 days may have a positive influence on the occurrence of metabolic diseases in overweight and obese women.4

Sea buckthorn seed oil was also found to serve a protective function against ischemic cerebral infraction and hypoxia-induced transvascular fluid leakage in rats.5

Flavonols from Sea Buckthorn are Cardio-Protective: Oil-form has Increased Bioavailability

Sea buckthorn is a rich source of flavonols, especially isorhamnetin. Prospective cohort studies have indicated some degree of inverse association between flavonoid intake and coronary heart disease. Animal and human studies suggest that sea buckthorn flavonoids may scavenge free radicals, lower blood viscosity, and enhance cardiac function. The effects of flavonol aglycones derived from sea buckthorn on the risk factors of cardiovascular disease as well as their absorption were studied in humans. The flavonols, ingested with oatmeal porridge, did not have a significant effect on the levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein, C-reactive protein, and homocysteine, on the plasma antioxidant potential, or on the paraoxonase activity. Flavonols at two dosages in oatmeal porridge were rapidly absorbed, and a relatively small amount of sea buckthorn oil added to the porridge seemed to have increased the bioavailability of sea buckthorn flavonols consumed at the higher dose.6

Reduces Inflammation, and Protects against CVD

Regular consumption of sea buckthorn berries reduced the levels of the pro-inflammatory protein, C-reactive Protein (CRP), that is associated with inflammation, diabetes and heart disease. The researchers recruited 233 healthy subjects (average age 30.7, average BMI 23.1 kg per sq. m) and randomly assigned them to receive sea buckthorn or placebo product for 90 days. "The daily berry dose was 28 g (frozen sea buckthorn berry puree).

The daily dose contained 16.7 mg flavonol glycosides (the glycosides of isorhamnetin were the most abundant), 15.6 mg vitamin C, and 1.1 mg alpha-tocopherol. Calculated as aglycones the total daily amount of flavonols was about 8.4 mg. For levels of CRP, however, significant differences were observed between the groups. Consumption of sea buckthorn was associated with an average 0.059 mg/l decrease, which suggests beneficial effects for cardiovascular health.7

Cancer

Various studies report that sea buckthorn oil also possesses anti-tumor properties. This oil can be incorporated in capsules, gelatin, and oral liquids. Moreover, toxicity studies report no adverse effects in subjects administered with sea buckthorn oil. Kumar et al. (2011) indicate that sea buckthorn oil plays an important role in cancer therapy, including chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and that taking sea buckthorn oil may help counteract many side effects or treatment, restore kidney and liver function, increase appetite, and generally keep patients in good health. Wang et al. (1989) observed that seed oil retarded tumor growth by 3–50%. Zhang et al. (Zhang, 1989) demonstrated that injection of seed oil (1.59 g/kg body weight) significantly inhibited the growth rate of transplanted melanoma (B16) and sarcoma (S180) tumors in mice. Wu et al. (1989) attribute the protective effect of sea buckthorn seed oil against cervical cancer to the presence of vitamins A and E. Finally, Sun et al. (2003) note that flavonoids from oil extracted from sea buckthorn seeds exert an inhibitory action on the liver cancer cell line BEL-7402 by inducing apoptosis.8

Gastric ulcer

Oils from sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) seeds and berries have traditionally been used in the treatment of disorders of skin and mucosa in China. Compared with the negative control, oral administration of CO2-extracted seed and pulp oils, 7.0 ml · kg-1 · day-1 significantly reduced ulcer formation in water-immersion (P<0.05) and reserpine-induced (P<0.01) models in rats. In addition, administration of the two oils, 3.5 ml         · kg-1· day-1, significantly reduced the index of pylorus ligation-induced gastric ulcer (P<0.05) and sped up the healing process of acetic acid-induced gastric ulcer (P<0.01). The results suggested that the CO2-extracted sea buckthorn seed and pulp oils have both preventive and curative effects against experimental gastric ulcers in rats.9

Improves Blood Counts after Chemotherapy

A study investigated the oil from Hippophae rhamnoides (OHR) in supporting the hematopoitic reconstitution after high dose chemotherapy. The mice were fed with OHR and variation of blood cell counts of the mice was recorded. Animal models of myelosuppression were built by 5-Fu intra-peritoneal infusion. The effects of OHR in the hematopoietic reconstitution were observed. The counts of erythrocytes of OHR group were significantly elevated. The blood cell counts in myelosuppression mice fed with OHR exceeded those in control group, and the mortality was decreased. OHR can improve the hematopoiesis of erythroid linage. Like G-CSF, OHR can stimulate the recovery of hematopoiesis after chemotherapy.10

Immune

Zhong Fei et al. of the Nanjing Medical College experimented on mice and guinea pigs with the compound extracts of Hippophae (CEH) (seabuckthorn).11 It was discovered the CEH had anti-anaphylactic effects and could strengthen the phagocytic function of the mouse macrophagocyte, increased serum-lysozyme in mice and alexin in guinea pigs. Thus it was proven that CEH could strengthen non-specific immunity functions. In mice, the serolysin level and the serum-accelerator level were distinctly increased. So was the capacity of the splenocytes to produce hemolysin and the percentage of the Stable Rosette Forming Cells (SRFC). Immune suppression caused by cyclophosphamide was counterchecked. CEH concentration was in direct proportion to its own counteraction against the interleukin-2 (IL-2) produced by the mice. It was obvious that CEH could regulate the cellular immunity and the hormonal immunity at every one the many links and levels. This provided the experimental basis for CEH to be widely used in the therapy of immune diseases.

Li Diandong et al. of the Medicinal Biotechnology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences researched on combining the polymerase chain reaction with the T- lymphocytes multiplication induced by the mitogen, and on seabuckthorn juice effect on secretion, which was caused by IL-2, of the old mouse's splenic lymphocytes. During senescence, the multiplication of the splenic lymphocytes and the secretion of IL-2 decrease along with the age increase. It was discovered that the multiplication index of the splenic lymphocytes of the mice, which were fed seabuckthorn juice, was higher than that of the control group at the same age. The difference between the two was very significant (P<0.01). Therefore it was believed that seabuckthorn could promote the immune function in mice, whose mechanism might also be realized by the mouse gene expression.12

In brief, the active principals in seabuckthorn can act as cleaning the human free radicals in vivo, increasing IL-2 content of old mice in vivo and affecting the gene expression. Thus it can promote the organic immune function. The IL-2 as immunomodulator can play an important part in strengthening the human resistance against diseases and in postponing senescence.

Skin

Seabuckthorn oils have been used for centuries as a skin care remedy, with reported skin nourishing, revitalizing and restorative actions. They have been used by both Eastern and Western medicine for the treatment of skin conditions, and it has been used internally for the treatment of ulcers of the mucous membranes. Seabuckthorn oil is widely used to promote the recovery of various skin conditions, including eczema, burns, bedsores and poorly healing wounds, as well as the skin damaging effects of sun, therapeutic radiation treatment and laser surgery.13

Seabuckthorn oil helps to prevent and treat wrinkles, dryness and other symptoms of malnourished or prematurely aging skin, and it is reported to have unique anti-aging properties. The UV spectrum of the oil shows moderate absorption in the UVB range which makes seabuckthorn oil skin care products useful for sun protection. Products containing seabuckthorn berry oil appear to promote cell tissue regeneration, thus aiding in the healing of wounds and restoring skin tissue.14

The cosmetic value of seabuckthorn oils is associated with their ability to promote regeneration of the skin and mucous membranes. Skin care products made of seabuckthorn oils are valued for their rejuvenating, restorative and anti-aging action. The restorative action of seabuckthorn oil may be in part due to its high content of essential fatty acids, carotenes, Vitamin E (tocopherols) flavonoids and phytosterols - all important for the maintenance of healthy skin and organs. Phytosterols of seabuckthorn include beta-sitosterol, beta-amirol and erithrodiol.15

Seabuckthorn oil contains rare fatty acids (omega 7) that are identical to our own production of protective lipid emollients; therefore the phytonutrients contained within this amazing natural resource are synergistically delivered exactly where we need them most. Perfect for nourishing, balancing and treating hypersensitive skin conditions.

Omega 3, 6 and 9--those fatty acids are no doubt already part of your health routine. Present in fresh flax and fish (3), borage and primrose (6), and olives (9), there is a broad scientific consensus that these oils sustain and protect. But one critical omega fatty acid is missing from that list: omega-7 oil from sea buckthorn ( Hippophae rhamnoides ). This oil, comprised of both palmitoleic and cis-vaccenic acids, has been used in Chinese and Tibetan medicine for promoting digestive and urogenital health for more than 12 centuries. The berries and seeds of sea buckthorn also deliver representatives of the omega 3, 6 and 9 series.

Scientists believe our most delicate body tissues, like the skin and the mucous membranes that line the digestive and urogenital tracts, have the greatest affinity for omega-7 fatty acids. Environmental stressors (such as sunlight and pollution), improper foods, and even normal aging can challenge those sensitive membranes, and omega-7 fatty acids are now being hailed as nourishment that may protect, replenish, moisturize, and restore.* Constituents also known to add to sea buckthorn's "rescue role" are a naturally occurring rich array of carotenoids, tocopherols, tocotrienols and sterols

Seabuckthorn oils have been used for centuries as a skin care remedy, with reported skin nourishing, revitalizing and restorative actions. They have been used by both Eastern and Western medicine for the treatment of skin conditions, and it has been used internally for the treatment of ulcers of the mucous membranes. Seabuckthorn oil is widely used to promote the recovery of various skin conditions, including eczema, burns, bedsores and poorly healing wounds, as well as the skin damaging effects of sun, therapeutic radiation treatment and laser surgery.

Seabuckthorn oil helps to prevent and treat wrinkles, dryness and other symptoms of malnourished or prematurely aging skin, and it is reported to have unique anti-aging properties. The UV spectrum of the oil shows moderate absorption in the UVB range which makes seabuckthorn oil skin care products useful for sun protection.

Products containing seabuckthorn berry oil appear to promote cell tissue regeneration, thus aiding in the healing of wounds and restoring skin tissue.

The cosmeceutical value of seabuckthorn oils is associated with their ability to promote regeneration of the skin and mucous membranes. Skin care products made of seabuckthorn oils are valued for their rejuvenating, restorative and anti-aging action.

The restorative action of seabuckthorn oil may be in part due to its high content of essential fatty acids, carotenes, Vitamin E (tocopherols) flavonoids and phytosterols - all important for the maintenance of healthy skin and organs.

The EFA content in the seabuckthorn oil is 80 - 95%.

Major EFAs are alpha linolenic, oleic and linoleic. 

Among the carotenes found in seabuckthorn are alpha and beta carotenes, lycopene, cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, taraxanthin and phytofluin.

Tocopherols are mostly alpha and gamma tocopherols.

Phytosterols of seabuckthorn include beta-sitosterol, beta-amirol and erithrodiol.

What makes our seabuckthorn product so beneficial for serious skin conditions, is the rare combination of highly active palmitoleic and linolenic acids found in the berries & seeds, as well as an abundance of essential vitamins, minerals and a high content of flavonoids - powerful anti-oxidants that boosts healthy cell regeneration and speeds up skins own healing metabolism. Seabuckthorn oil has also been proven to dramatically reduce or eradicate the large number of demodex mites associated with rosacea. Whether the reduction is caused through actually killing the demodex mite, or simply by improving the skins overall health beyond a level that presents the perfect breeding ground, has not yet been established.

Sea Buckthorn Oil may help with:

Intimate dryness

Dry skin conditions

Dry eyes and mouth

Premature ageing

Vaginal atrophy

Vaginal atrophy, the thinning and dryig of vaginal mucosa, is associated with lowered levels of estrogen at menopause. Atrophic tissue is prone to inflammation, petechial hemorrhages and ulceration. Typical symptoms include vaginal discomfort, feelings of dryness, burning, itching and dyspareunia. A prevalence of 43% for the symptoms of vaginal atrophy among postmenopausal women was recently reported in Finland and United States.

Estrogen is important for the structure of urogenital area, where it maintains the levels of collagen and elastic fibers and affects acidic mucopolysaccharides and hyaluronic acid, necessary for tissue moisture and epithelial barrier.

One study indicates beneficial effects by intake of SB oil on vaginal atrophy among postmenopausal women. The improving effect on the integrity of the vaginal epithelium was most likely due to combined effect of the bioactive compounds in sea buckthorn oil, via mechanisms other than the activation of estrogen receptors.

Results from the study indicate that taking sea buckthorn oil daily for period of three months significantly improved symptoms of dryness. Individuals taking the sea buckthorn oil daily saw a three times greater improvement in the integrity of their vaginal walls than the control group.16

References

Purushothaman J, Suryakumar G, Shukla D, et al. Modulatory effects of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) in hypobaric hypoxia induced cerebral vascular injury. Brain Res Bull. 2008 Sep 24)

Basu M, Prasad R, Jayamurthy P, Pal K, Arumughan C, Sawhney RC. Anti-atherogenic effects of seabuckthorn (Hippophaea rhamnoides) seed oil. Phytomedicine. 2007 Nov;14(11):770-7. Epub 2007 May 11.\

Hasani-Ranjbar S, Jouyandeh Z, Abdollahi M. A systematic review of anti-obesity medicinal plants - an update. J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2013 Jun 19;12(1):28. doi: 10.1186/2251-6581-12-28.

Lehtonen HM, Suomela JP, Tahvonen R, Yang B, Venojärvi M, Viikari J, Kallio H. Different berries and berry fractions have various but slightly positive effects on the associated variables of metabolic diseases on overweight and obese women. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011 Mar;65(3):394-401. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.268. Epub 2011 Jan 12.

Olas B. Sea buckthorn as a source of important bioactive compounds in cardiovascular diseases. Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 97, November 2016, Pages 199-204 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2016.09.008

Gupta A, Kumar R, Pal K, Singh V, Banerjee PK, Sawhney RC. Influence of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) flavone on dermal wound healing in rats. Mol Cell Biochem. 2006 Apr 22

Larmo, P. Alin, J. Salminen, E. Kallio H. Tahvonen R. Effects of sea buckthorn berries on infections and inflammation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol. 86, pp. 2345-2353 doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602831

Olas B, Skalski B, Ulanowska K. The Anticancer Activity of Sea Buckthorn [Elaeagnus rhamnoides (L.) A. Nelson]. Front. Pharmacol., 15 March 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2018.00232

Xing J, Yang B, Dong Y, Wang B, Wang J, Kallio HP. Effects of sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) seed and pulp oils on experimental models of gastric ulcer in rats. Fitoterapia. 2002 Dec;73(7-8):644-50.

Chen Y, Zhong X, Liu T, Ge Z. The study on the effects of the oil from Hippophae rhamnoides in hematopoiesis. Zhong Yao Cai. 2003 Aug;26(8):572-5

Xu Mingyu, Sun Xiaoxuan, Cui Jinhua. The medicinal research and development of seabuckthorn. (Xiyuan Hospital of the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Beijing 100091) (Department of chemic engineering, Taiyaun University of Technology)

Xu Mingyu, Sun Xiaoxuan, Cui Jinhua. The medicinal research and development of seabuckthorn. (Xiyuan Hospital of the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine of China, Beijing 100091) (Department of chemic engineering, Taiyaun University of Technology)

Aleksandra Zielińska and Izabela Nowak. Abundance of active ingredients in sea-buckthorn oil. Lipids Health Dis. 2017; 16: 95. doi: 10.1186/s12944-017-0469-7

Aleksandra Zielińska and Izabela Nowak. Abundance of active ingredients in sea-buckthorn oil. Lipids Health Dis. 2017; 16: 95. doi: 10.1186/s12944-017-0469-7

Aleksandra Zielińska and Izabela Nowak. Abundance of active ingredients in sea-buckthorn oil. Lipids Health Dis. 2017; 16: 95. doi: 10.1186/s12944-017-0469-7

Larmo, Petra S. et al. Effects of sea buckthorn oil intake on vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Maturitas, Volume 79, Issue 3, 316 - 321