Sea Buckthorn
Hippophae rhamnoides
The Sea Buckthorn is a deciduous shrub given it’s name to avoid confusion with the True Buckthorns in the Rhamnaceae family. This belongs to a different plant family, the Elegnaceae and is thought to be native to a wide range of the northern hemisphere from the Atlantic coasts of Europe all the way across to China. The vast majority of Sea Buckthorn can be found growing in China. It is an important food source for many birds and animals and a highly nutritious one at that. It is a dense shrub that can grow anywhere between 1 and 20 feet tall with opposite, lanceolate, silvery green leaves and very thorny branches which make it difficult to harvest the waxy yellow fruits. In Central Asia it grows in semi arid desert like climates and thrives in places where other plants find it difficult to survive. Various parts of the plant including the leaves have been reported in traditional medicinal use, and the fruits have been processed for juice, jams, and liquors for quite some time.
What is Sea Buckthorn Used For?
Sea Buckthorn fruits are a good source of Vitamin C and other antioxidant flavonoids in addition to minerals, essential fatty acids, amino acids and Vitamin E. The vitamin c content is quite high reaching as high as 1550 mg per 100 grams of material making it one of the best naturally occurring sources of this well-known vitamin. It has also been reported to support digestion, cardiovascular function, invigorate blood and help ease occasional joint pain.
Traditional Health Benefits of Sea Buckthorn
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Additional Information on this Herb
Sea buckthorn fruit contains fruit acids including malic acid, acetic acid, and quinic acid; as well as volatile oil, sitosterol, and flavonoids. It also contains carotenoids including beta-carotene, gamma-carotene, and lycopene; and fatty oils including oleic acid, isolinol acid, linolenic acid, stearic acid, and palmitoleic acid. The fruit also contains amino acids and vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, and tocopherols
Fruit Juice
1.) Kallio H, Yang B, Peippo P. Effects of different origins and harvesting time on vitamin C, tocopherols, and tocotrienols in sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) berries. J Agric Food Chem 2002;50:6136-42..2.) Weiss RF. Herbal medicine. 5th ed. Beaconsfield, UK: Beaconsfield Publishers Ltd, 1998.3.) Zeb A. Chemical and nutritional constituents of sea buckthorn. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition 2004;3:99-106.4.) Jeppsson N, Gao XQ (2000). Changes in the contents of kaempferol, quercetin and L-ascorbic acid in sea buckthorn berries during maturation. Agri Food Sci Finland, 9, 17-22. Li TSC & Schroeder WR (1996).5.) Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoide L.): A multipurpose plant. Hort Technology, 6, 370-80. 6.) Yang B, Kallio HP (2001). Fatty acid composition of lipids in sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) berries of different origins. J Agric Food Chem, 49, 1939-47. 7.) Yang B, Kallio H (2002). Composition and physiological effects of sea buckthorn (Hippophae) lipids. Trends Food Sci Technol, 13, 160-67.
Not for use during pregnancy or lactation. If you have a medical condition or take pharmaceutical drugs please consult your doctor prior to use.
- This information in our Herbal Reference Guide is intended only as a general reference for further exploration, and is not a replacement for professional health advice. This content does not provide dosage information, format recommendations, toxicity levels, or possible interactions with prescription drugs. Accordingly, this information should be used only under the direct supervision of a qualified health practitioner such as a naturopathic physician.
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