SeaBD 75 CBD Organic Virgin Sea Buckthorn Oil
Sea Buckthorn Oil- also know as Hippophae rhamnoides L- is a robust winter shrub with various health benefits. The fruits of Sea Buckthorn are rich in a variety of phytochemicals, biologically active compounds found in plants with a number of physiological properties and benefits. In addition to its antioxidant activity, Sea Buckthorn oil is rich in many nutrients; such as vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. The health benefits are vast and include significant anti-inflammatory properties, as well as aiding in digestive and immune health. This oil has also been found to improve upon the body’s overall stress response, as well as even help combat against depression.
Antioxidants
Sea Buckthorn Oil is naturally full of antioxidants that help to protect the body against oxidative stress. Its seeds and leaves for instance are rich in quercetin, a plant pigment or flavonoid with potent antioxidant properties; helping to ward off oxidative stress as well as inflammation in the body. In particular, kaempferol has been indicated to be part of Sea Buckthorn Oil. This biologically active compound exhibits many pharmacological activities including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities. Additionally, bioactive substances such as vitamins, minerals, as well as carotenoids (α, β, ð-carotene, and lycopene) have all been found in parts of this plant (1).
Minerals
Additionally the berries found in Sea Buckthorn oil comprise of minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and iron. Potassium maintains electrolyte and pH balance; influences contraction of smooth, skeletal, and cardiac muscle; affects the excitability of nerve tissue, regulates water balance and blood pressure and plays a role in energy metabolism. Magnesium is a key player in over 300 biochemical reactions and is abundant inside the cells, second to potassium. Magnesium is essential to creating and maintaining healthy bones, energy production, nervous system balance, blood glucose control, and has strong anti-inflammatory properties. It is required for DNA and RNA synthesis, as well as the synthesis of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant. Phosphorus is used in bone mineralization, energy transfer and storage, nucleic acid formation, cell membrane structure and acid-base balance. Iron is critical to immune function, assists in antioxidant functioning and is required for synthesis of DNA, amino acids, collagen, neurotransmitters and certain hormones. It helps to improve energy, restore healthy levels of sleep, as well as is needed for synthesis of hemoglobin.
Vitamin content: B1, B2, B6, Folate, C,
Vitamin B1 or thiamin assists the release of energy from fat, carbohydrates and protein- essentially converting our food into fuel our body can use. It influences mood, increases well-being and overall energy. Vitamin B2 or riboflavin is involved in ATP production, is a cofactor for glutathione reductase by recycling oxidized glutathione. B2 is also an essential part of coenzymes FMN and FAD, both of which play a role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and DNA/RNA. Additionally, it is important for methylation reactions in the body as well as balancing hormone levels. Vitamin C functions in the body include: growth and repair of tissues (wound healing), repairing/maintaining bones and teeth, immune function (recharges iron containing enzymes), antioxidant properties (protection from free radicals), collagen production, tyrosine synthesis, carnitine synthesis as well as redox recycling antioxidants such as Vitamin E. Folate functions as a coenzyme in both the mitochondria and cytoplasm. It is involved in the metabolism in many amino acids and is needed for cell division and nucleotide metabolism.
Additional major components of the seed are large amount of carotenoids, fat soluble vitamins such as Vitamin E and K, and fatty acids (2).
Essential Fatty Acids
Essential fatty acids help to keep important things like water and vital nutrients within the cells, while facilitating waste and other toxins out of the cell. Essential fatty acids also have a role in neurotransmitter pathways, particularly serotonin. Additionally, they help to reduce inflammation in the body. Oil extracts obtained from the berries of sea buckthorn in recent studies have been found to be rich in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). Oil from sea buckthorn contains several bioactive components such as vitamin E, vitamin K, carotenoids, and β-70 sitosterol (3).
Carotenoids also called tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants; they have been indicated to have vast anti-inflammatory and immune health benefits.
More than half of the fat found in sea buckthorn oil is mono and polyunsaturated fat. In fact, it may be one of the only plant foods to provide all four omega fatty acids: Omega-3, Omega-6, Omega-7 and Omega-9. These fatty acids help to improve overall immunity in the body, reduce levels of inflammation, as well as provide energy.
Vitamin E ensures reproduction, has significant antioxidant properties; thereby improving upon immune health. It also helps to improve eye and cardiovascular health, as well as maintains cell membrane stability.
Vitamin K is necessary for normal blood clotting. Specifically, Vitamin K is required for the liver to make factors that are necessary for blood to properly coagulate. Vitamin K also plays key roles in subsequent physiological functions such as bone metabolism, and the regulation of some enzyme systems. It can also act as a cofactor for some plasma proteins, thereby affecting immune and inflammatory responses particularly mediated by T cells. Terpenes are fragrant molecules that give Sea Buckthorn Oil its particular scent. Terpenes can promote various health benefits such as improving upon sleep and energy levels, as well as enhancing mood health. Terpenes have also been indicated to have anti-inflammatory, anti-tumorigenic, and neuroprotective effects.
Overall Benefits
Research indicates vast anti-oxidant and immuno-modulatory properties of Sea Buckthorn oil (4).
Immunity
The literature attributes the boost in immunity, in large part, to the high flavonoid content of the oil. Sea buckthorn leaf extract acts as an immunosuppressant during the acute phase of inflammation by selectively inhibiting T-cell activation (5).
The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induced by microbial products like lipopolysaccharide accounts for the sustained generation of nitric oxide (NO) and is well known for its role in immunological responses such as inflammation and autoimmunity. As noted, flavonoids are rich in their antioxidant properties- helping to protect the biological system against oxidative stress. This is mainly due to their redox properties, which can play an important role in adsorbing and neutralizing free radicals, quenching singlet and triplet oxygen or decomposing peroxidase (6).
The branches of sea buckthorn contains (-)-epigallocatechin and ursolic acid that exhibit anti-inflammatory effects. The branches of sea buckthorn contain (-)-epigallocatechin and ursolic acid that exhibit anti-inflammatory effects and the leaves are used in the treatment of diarrhea, gastrointestinal, and dermatologic disorders having strong implications for digestive health (7).
Sea buckthorn has been indicated to increase the production of plasma leptin and of neuropeptide Y in children with functional dyspepsia. The overall effect of sea buckthorn is improvement of gastric emptying, gastric mobility and gastrointestinal digestive function (8).
Effects on adverse stressful situations
May reduce symptoms of depression: Animal studies report that sea buckthorn may have antidepressant effects. Alcoholic leaf extract of sea buckthorn (70% ethanol) has been analyzed to inhibit hypoxia-induced cytotoxicity, mitochondrial integrity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and DNA damage all in support of this (9).
The different pharmacological effects of sea buckthorn are attributed to the various bioactive components with significant antioxidant properties. Sea buckthorn offers an excellent source of functional and therapeutic benefit in terms of overall health- particularly with regards to immunity, inflammation and digestive health.
References:
Häkkinen, K et al. (1999). Content of the flavonols quercetin, myricetin, and kaempferol in 25 edible berries. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry,47, 2274–2279
Fan et al. (2007). ). Radical-scavenging proanthocyanidins from sea buckthorn seed. Food Chemistry,102, 168–177.
Zeb A. (2004). Chemical and nutritional constituents of sea buckthorn juice. Pakistani Journal of Nutrition,3, 99–106.
Hippophae R. et al. (1987).Anti-oxidant and immunomodulatory properties of Sea Buckthorn. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 79, 373–378.
Ganju et al. (2005). Anti-inflammatory activity of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) leaves. International Immunopharmacology, 5, 1675–1684
Rice-Evans, Miller, & Pagana (1996). Structure–antioxidant activity relationships of flavonoids and phenolic acids. Free Radical Biology & Medicine,20, 933–956.
Yasukawa et al. (2009). Immunomodulatory effects of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L) against chromium (VI) induced immunosuppression. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry 278(1-2
Xiao et al. (2013). Influence of hippophae rhamnoides on two appetite factors, gastric emptying and metabolic parameters, in children with functional dyspepsia. Hellenic Journal of Nuclear Medicine,16, 38–43
Narayanan et al., 2005. Antioxidant activities of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) during hypoxia induced oxidative stress in glial cells. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry,278, 9–14