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Sea Buckthorn And Its Potential Benefits

02 May Sea Buckthorn And Its Potential Benefits

Posted at 09:00h in Uncategorized by

There’s a reason (actually there are numerous reasons!) why sea buckthorn is becoming one of the newest and most sought after ingredients in the health and wellness world. Sea buckthorn is also known as Siberian pineapple and it is found in northwestern Europe, throughout central Asia and the northern Himalayas1,2,3.

You can find sea buckthorn in FITTEAM’s newest product, FIT+!

Here is a summary of some of the promising research around sea buckthorn’s potential uses:

Immune system

Sea buckthorn is packed with natural antioxidants. It contains high amounts of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), polyphenols, flavonoids, tocopherols and alkaloids. Other natural antioxidants present in sea buckthorn include sterols, tannins and numerous vitamins, and minerals. The flavonoids (leucocyanidin , isorhamnetin, quercetin, and quassin) greatly contribute to the immune-boosting capacity of sea buckthorn. These substances help strengthen the immune system and increase resistance to illnesses 4,5.

Cardiovascular diseases

One of sea buckthorn’s biggest claims to fame is its abundance of flavonoids discussed above. These flavonoids are also the reason why it is considered beneficial in supporting cardiovascular health. It was observed that sea buckthorn contributed to improvements in blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol, triacylglycerols (triglycerides), and glycated hemoglobin aka hemoglobin A1c. Moreover, sea buckthorn was found to support improvements in cardiac function 6,7,8.

Diabetes

Sea buckthorn was shown to support improvements in blood glucose, triacylglycerol levels and nitric oxide levels, while increasing antioxidant levels. This is promising as it shows that sea buckthorn may be protective in people living with diabetes to help prevent further complications brought on by oxidative stress and elevated levels of blood glucose and blood lipids 9,10,11,12,13.

Antibacterial Properties

Sea buckthorn was found to have effective antibacterial activity against numerous bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella dysenteriae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus 14,15,16.

Liver Health

Sea buckthorn is rich with unsaturated fatty acids α-tocopherol or ß-carotene which may help protect the liver from toxins such as ethanol (aka alcohol) and the buildup of drugs that are metabolized through the liver such as acetaminophen. These toxins can damage liver cells and lead to liver cell death. Additionally, the flavonoids in sea buckthorn help prevent fatty liver 16,17,18.

Gastric Health

Sea buckthorn has been shown to effectively support the prevention of gastric ulcers. Sea buckthorn was also shown to accelerate the regeneration of the protective mucous membranes in the gastrointestinal tract such as in the stomach, the large intestine, the urinary tract, and the oral cavity 19,20.

Weight Loss

In a recent study done on mice, sea buckthorn was shown to suppress body weight gain and fat accumulation while improving thermogenesis (calorie burning). This is exciting news as this mechanism of action found in sea buckthorn could possibly lend itself to be a promising solution for weight loss 21,22.

As you can see, there are numerous reasons why sea buckthorn is quickly becoming one of the new “it” ingredients to look for in supplement formulas, and as mentioned prior you can find it in the new FITTEAM FIT+!

There is a robust history of research surrounding this fascinating ingredient and there will likely continue to be more and more added to the list as time goes on. As always, FITTEAM aims to bring you the highest quality supplements formulated with ingredients at the forefront of scientific research, which is why it is so exciting to see the formulation of new FIT+!

Please note: The research presented here is exclusively for informational purposes only and not intended to provide medical advice or guidance on any of the conditions mentioned above or any other medical condition. Please check with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about incorporating supplements into your dietary regimen especially if you have any medical conditions or are on any medications.

 

REFERENCES

  1. Li, T.S.C and Beveridge, T.H.J. 2003. Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.): Production and Utilization. NRC Research Press, Ottawa. (monographs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca)
  2. Zeb, A. 2004. Important therapeutic uses of sea buckthorn (Hippophae): A review. J. of Biological Sciences 4(5): 687-693
  3. Bal LM, Meda V, Naik SN, Satya S 2011: Sea buckthorn berries: A potential source of valuable nutrients for nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals. Food Res Int 44: 1718-1727
  4. Christaki E 2012: Hippophae rhamnoides L. (sea buckthorn): A potential source of nutraceuticals. Food Public Health 2: 69-72
  5. Li TSC, Beveridge THJ 2003: Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.): Production and utilization. National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. pp. 101-106
  6. Wu, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, B., Lei, H., & Yang, Y. (1997). Effects of total flavonoids of fructus Hippophae (TFH) on cardiac function and hemodynamics of anesthetized open-chest dogs with acute heart failure.
  7. Koyama, T., Taka, A., & Togashi, H. (2009). Effects of a herbal medicine, Hippophae rhamnoides, on cardiovascular functions and coronary microvessels in the spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rat. Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, 41, 17–26.
  8. Yan-Jun Xu; Meera Kaur; Reshvinder S. Dhillon; Paramjit S. Tappia; Naranjan S. Dhalla (2011). Health benefits of sea buckthorn for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. , 3(1), 2–12. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2011.01.00
  9. Patel CA, Divakar K, Santani D, Solanki HK, Thakkar JH 2012: Remedial perspective of Hippophae rhamnoides
  10. (Sea buckthorn), ISRN Pharmacology, doi: 10.5402/2012/436857
  11. Christaki E 2012: Hippophae rhamnoides L. (sea buckthorn): A potential source of nutraceuticals. Food Public Health 2: 69-72
  12. Yang B, Kallio H 2002: Composition and physiological effects of sea buckthorn (Hippophae) lipids. Trends Food Sci Tech 13: 160-167
  13. Zhang, W., Zhao, J., Wang, J., Pang, X., Zhuang, X., Zhu, X., et al. (2010). Hypoglycemic effect of aqueous extract of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) seed residues in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Phytotherapy Research, 24, 228–232
  14. Christaki E 2012: Hippophae rhamnoides L. (sea buckthorn): A potential source of nutraceuticals. Food Public Health 2: 69-72
  15. Yogendra Kumar, M. S., Tirpude, R. J., Maheshwari, D. T., Bansal, A., & Misra, K. (2013). Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of phenolic rich fraction of Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) leaves in vitro. Food Chemistry, 141(4), 3443–3450. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.06.0
  16. Ramesbabu AP, Ganapathy AP, Jothiramajayam M, Surbamani E, Sundaramoorthy B 2011: Review on curative assets of seabuckthorn. J Pharma Res 4: 164-166
  17. Li TSC, and Beveridge THJ. 2003: Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.): Production and utilization. National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. pp. 101-106
  18. Khan BA, Akhtar N, Mahmood T 2010: A comprehensive review of a magic plant Hippophae rhamnoides. Pharmacogn J 16: 58-61
  19. Christaki E 2012: Hippophae rhamnoides L. (sea buckthorn): A potential source of nutraceuticals. Food Public Health 2: 69-72
  20. Li TSC, Beveridge THJ 2003: Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.): Production and utilization. National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. pp. 101-106
  21. Kumar MSY, Tirpude RJ, Maheshwari DT, Bansal A, Misra K 2013: Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of phenolic rich fraction of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamniodes L.) leaves in vitro. Food Chem 141: 3443-3450 Kumar S, Sagar A 2007: Microbial associates of Hippophae rhamnoides (Seabuckthorn). Plant Pathol J 6: 299-305.
  22. Ma Z, Sun Q, Chang L, et al. A natural anti-obesity reagent derived from sea buckthorn polysaccharides: Structure characterization and anti-obesity evaluation in vivo. Food Chem. 2022;375:131884. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.131884

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Maryann Walsh, MFN, RD, CDE
Registered Dietitian/ Consultant