Sea Buckthorn
by Gudrun Maybaum
Autumn 2003
Botanical name: Hippophae Rhamnoides
Family name: Elaeagnaceae
When I was researching herb information for this article, I ran into one
which has not much recorded history, although it has been used for a
minimum of 1,200 years. As usual, the Greeks were the first ones to note its
medical use. They fed the leaves to their horses, whose coats turned very shiny,
and the horses gained remarkable weight. This is how Sea Buckthorn got its
Latin name. 'Hippo' stands for horse and 'phaos' means to shine.
The berries and their usage were also mentioned in China, 1,200 years
ago, and in Tibetan medical texts around 1,000 years ago. From there, Sea
Buckthorn spread over Russia and the Ukraine into Europe, finally
reaching the British Isles.
In the Far East, Sea Buckthorn has been used as a popular remedy for
skin irritation, sunburn, wounds, inflammation, gastric problems, coughs, and
mucous membrane disorders.
What caught my interest was the recent extensive research in many
different countries that has been done on it. These modern scientific studies
confirm all the claims made for thousands of years and much more.
In the 1940s, Russian scientists began to research the active
ingredients of the leaves and berries of Sea Buckthorn. In the many following studies,
not only have all the curative properties been confirmed, but it was found
that Sea Buckthorn berries are one of the most nutritious foods on earth.
Looking at the contents is almost like reading a super food label.
The berries contain 10 different vitamins, 24 trace elements, 18 amino
acids, are rich in proteins and many bioactive substances. The vitamin C
content is one of the highest, after rosehips, cayenne pepper and red
sweet peppers, found on the planet. They are also on the top of the list for
vitamin E, beta carotene and flavonoid content.
Because of its nutritional value, China planted in the beginning of the
1980s 300,000 ha of sea buckthorn. Today it has 150 factories which
produce about 200 different sea buckthorn products.
Among its many other benefits, medical researchers found the effect of
Sea Buckthorn on the skin, restoration of the mucous system and the
digestive system the strongest. The high concentration of some rare fatty acids
and cartenoids are thought to be the cause of the healing effect Sea
Buckthorn has on such skin problems as burns, dermatitis and eczema.
Hospitals in Russia and China are using it for eczema, bed sores, burns
and radiation injuries. Sea Buckthorn was used in Chernobyl after the
reactor accident in 1986.
A German study concentrated on the vitamin Bs in Sea Buckthorn.
Previously, it had been assumed that no plant contains a significant amount of
vitamin B12, but this study found that Sea Buckthorn not only contains all the B
vitamins, its vitamin B12 content is as high as in liver.
The clinical study shows that a lack of vitamin B12 causes such problems as skin disorders, anemia, digestive disorders, nerve damage and dysfunction of the mucous membranes.
Other researchers found some antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties in Sea Buckthorn.
Sea Buckthorn is a dioecious hardy plant, which means a male and a
female shrub is needed to produce fruits. They thrive in moist soils, but grow
also in poor soil, can tolerate cold and extreme conditions. The female
plants should be pruned to provide sunlight and make picking the berries
easier.
References:
http://www.agr.gc.ca/mad-dam/e/bulletine/v16e/v16n13_e.htm
http://mz-verlag.de/00000092010d65a15/00000092010f44e4e.html
http://www.naturalelixir.com/anti.html
http://www.tc-biodiversity.org/sample-buckthorn.pdf
http://www.teknoscienze.com/agro/pdf/may_june03/sea_buckthorn.PDF
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/crop864?opendocument
http://floraleads.com/seabuckthorn/