Pegasus’ favorite food, Sea Buckthorn berries (Hippophae rhamnoides) are rich in Omega 7s and other nutrients that promote mucous membrane integrity. Photographer: Vasil Ishmatov; Agency: Dreamstime.com

According to ancient Greek mythology, the winged horse Pegasus was particularly fond of eating the bright orange berries of a shrub found throughout the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and Asia. The old lore has it that these berries were responsible for Pegasus’ lustrous coat.

The plant is known today as Sea Buckthorn, and it takes its scientific name, Hippophae rhamnoides, from the Pegasus story. The Latin name translates directly as “Shiny Horse.”

We’ll leave the question of whether there were, in fact, flying horses in the classical Greek era to archaeologists and evolutionary biologists. But it seems that when it comes to plant medicines, the ancients clearly understood something. It turns out that the berries of Hippophae rhamnoides are packed with compounds that stimulate and facilitate the healing and structural integrity of the skin and, in fact, all mucous membranes.

A growing body of research indicates that oils extracted from Sea Buckthorn berries are effective in the treatment of atopic dermatitis, gastric ulcers, vaginal atrophy, and many other disorders characterized by the disruption of mucous membranes.

Sea Buckthorn berries and the seeds they enclose are an extremely rich source of Vitamin C, and a full complement of naturally occurring vitamin E components (all 8 tocopherols and tocotrienols). They also contain high levels of α, β, and γ carotene, lignans, and a host of sterols, including β-sitosterol and β-sitosterol-β-D-glucoside. In other words, these fruits are jammed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.

Omega-7, A Magic Number for the Mucosa

But the most unique feature of Sea Buckthorn berries is that they contain extremely high levels of Omega-7 fatty acids, a key component in epithelial cell membranes. Omega-7s, not nearly as well known as the Omega-3s and 6s, are essential for wound repair and re-epithelialization. Think of them as “rescue” fatty acids for mucous membrane repair, said Taryn Forrelli, ND, medical director for NewMark, a professional level nutraceutical company that has recently introduced a supercritical CO₂ extract of Sea Buckthorn into the US market.

Our bodies naturally synthesize Omega-7s, meaning that they are not “essential” fatty acids, like the Omega-3s and 6s, which the human body cannot produce, and so must obtain from dietary sources. However, there is evidence that individuals with mucous membrane disrupting disorders like ulcerative colitis and inflammatory bowel disease show extremely low Omega-7 levels in the intestinal epithelium, Dr. Forrelli told Holistic Primary Care.

Roughly 50% of the fatty acids found in the Rhamnoides pulp and seed oil are Omega-7s, primarily palmitoleic acid and cis-vaccenic acid. The oil also contains high levels of Omega-3s, 6s and 9s. Aside from Sea Buckthorn, the only other significant food source for Omega-7s is the Macadamia nut.

A Himalayan Mainstay

Sea Buckthorn berries have been a mainstay in Chinese and Tibetan medicine for centuries. The plant grows widely in mountainous regions of Asia, and the berries are used commonly in herbal formulas for wound healing, treatment of gastrointestinal ulcerative conditions, chronic skin disorders, and respiratory problems.

According to Jan Salick, PhD, Professor of Ethnobotany at Washington University, St. Louis, and the University of Missouri, Sea Buckthorn is revered by peoples living in the Himalayas. She noted that the plant is considered sacred, and it is not uncommon for Tibetan people to pray to these shrubs and trees, old groves of which can still be found in parts of Tibet.

Dr. Salick, who has done extensive research in Tibet, noted that the reverence for this plant has contributed greatly to its preservation and careful cultivation in the Himalayas. She indicated that it is one of the few native Himalayan plants that can be sustainably harvested and brought into the global market without causing extensive ecological damage.

Asian healers from times past may not have known the biochemistry of Sea Buckthorn, but they recognized its therapeutic effects, and more importantly, they intuitively understood that a common physiological thread of mucous membrane disruption underlies seemingly dissimilar disease processes like peptic ulcers and atopic dermatitis; chronic bowel pain and susceptibility to respiratory infections. This is a perspective that modern fields of study like psychoneuroimmunology are only now beginning to corroborate.

Though clinical research on Sea Buckthorn is still at a relatively early stage, the available data suggest that it has a role in the treatment of a host of common, chronic disorders characterized by inflammation and disruption of the skin or internal mucous membranes.

Healing Peptic Ulcers, Atopic Dermatitis

One of the most interesting modern studies of this herb came from Chinese investigators who used Sea Buckthorn oil to treat 30 patients with peptic ulcers in an open label trial. They found that 12 capsules of the oil per day resulted in complete resolution of the ulcers in 77% of the patients within one month. The total response rate (total and partial ulcer clearance) was 97% (Qiu GQ, et al. Hippophae. 1997; 10(4): 39–41).

An earlier Russian study showed that as an adjunctive therapy for 116 patients with duodenal or gastric ulcers, purified Sea Buckthorn oil could add an additional measure of symptom relief and accelerated mucosal repair over that achieved with drug therapy alone (Nikitin VA, et al. Khirurgia. 1989; 4: 33–35).

Sea Buckthorn has captured the interest of a team of researchers at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Finland, who have published several papers on this plant in the treatment of diverse conditions. They showed that 5 grams daily of the berry pulp oil, rich in palmitoleic and palmitic acids, could markedly improve symptoms and clinical appearance of atopic dermatitis. The improvements were not seen in patients in the control group, and symptom reductions correlated with increased α-linolenic acid concentrations in the Buckthorn patients’ plasma phospholipids (Yang B, Kalimo KO, et al. J Nutr Biochem. 1999 Nov; 10(11): 622–630).

Potential Cardiovascular Benefits

As an interesting side note, the Finnish investigators observed a statistically significant increase in high-density lipoprotein from 1.38 mmol/L to 1.53 mmol/L in patients taking the Sea Buckthorn oil.

A separate study of 12 healthy men with normal blood lipid profiles, who took either 5 g Sea Buckthorn oil per day or the same amount of fractionated coconut oil for 4 weeks, showed decreases in platelet aggregability while the men were on the Buckthorn oil, but not while on the coconut oil. The trial had a crossover design with 4-week washout periods between treatment exposures (Johansson AK, et al. J Nutr Biochem. 2000 Oct; 11(10): 491–495). Though it is far too soon to draw strong conclusions, the findings suggest that Sea Buckthorn may have cardiovascular health benefits.

Theoretically, this makes sense, said NewMark’s Dr. Forrelli. One of the central mechanisms in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease is inflammation and disruption of the endothelial lining of the arterial walls. Though there are not yet any studies to prove it, it is plausible that the same biochemical components that reduce inflammation and speed the healing of the epithelium, may have similar effects in the endothelium.

Quelling Vulvovaginitis

There are several studies in Asian medical journals suggesting that this herb has a role in treating disorders of the urogenital mucosa, particularly cervicitis and vaginitis in women. This prompted Dr. Risto Erkkola, of the Department of Ob.Gyn., University Central Hospital, Turku, to investigate the potential of oral Sea Buckthorn oil in women with recalcitrant vulvovaginitis.

Dr. Erkkola’s pilot study involved five women, all of whom had vulvovaginal symptoms of longstanding duration that had not responded to drug therapies including topical estrogen, testosterone, corticosteroids, and anti-inflammatory ointments. Four of the five were post-menopausal and on some form of hormone replacement therapy. In three of the five, the vaginal lesions were attributed to lichen ruber; a fourth had lichen sclerosus et atrophicus, and the fifth had Sjogren’s syndrome secondary to rheumatoid arthritis.

The patients were instructed to take 3 grams per day of purified Sea Buckthorn oil, extracted using supercritical CO₂ methods (Aromtech Ltd., Finland), for a total of 12 weeks. The investigators evaluated the patients at baseline, six and 12 weeks; at each visit, patients rated severity of itching, burning, pain and discharge on a visual analog scale which was scored using a 0–100 point scale for each symptom.

Three of the five women showed marked improvement, and a fourth had moderate symptom relief. One of the five had no measurable response to the herbal therapy. On average, the symptom scores dropped by 46%, from a baseline mean of 185 to 100 by the close of the trial.

Dr. Erkkola pointed out that plasma estradiol levels, measured at each evaluation visit, were unchanged throughout the study in all patients. This indicates that the mucosal effect were not estrogen-mediated. He attributed them primarily to the vitamin E and Omega-7 content of the oils. “Oral administration of Sea Buckthorn oil represents a promising alternative for treating chronic vaginal inflammation,” Dr. Erkkola reported. “Clinical trials with larger numbers of patients are justified, to more accurately pinpoint conditions which may benefit from Sea Buckthorn oils.”

Supercritical Is Critical

Though Sea Buckthorn is new to the US market, it has been on the international market for many years. Unfortunately, many previously available products are produced through extraction methods using toxic solvents like benzene. Dr. Forrelli said solvent extraction is popular because it is relatively inexpensive. The problem is that it can leave solvent residues in the finished product. That’s bad news if the solvent in question is a carcinogen like benzene.

Supercritical CO₂ extraction, which involves passing highly pressurized CO₂ gas through the plant material and then releasing the gas at normal atmospheric pressure, produces a very pure botanical extract that includes a full-spectrum of bioactive plant compounds. Since the method does not involve solvents, there are no toxic residues left behind.

Dr. Forrelli said that practitioners and clinical researchers are only beginning to discover the potential clinical applications for Sea Buckthorn. She believes it could play a role in the treatment of virtually any condition that manifests as breaks in the integrity of a mucosal tissue, and predicted that it will be particularly helpful in repairing “leaky gut,” a condition in which gaps in the intestinal wall allow passage of large macromolecular antigens into the bloodstream.

Many physicians believe leaky gut underlies chronic allergic disorders. “If you can heal the gut, you can improve a lot of other things,” she told Holistic Primary Care.

In terms of dosing, the range in published studies goes up to 5 grams per day. The NewMark product provides 450 mg of purified Sea Buckthorn oil per softgel capsule. Dr. Forrelli said that depending on the severity of a patient’s symptoms, doses in the range of 1–4 capsules daily should be sufficient in most cases.