Introduction
A champion of survival, the sea buckthorn, a shrub used in ancient times as an energy food for soldiers in times of war, and currently exploited in the most diverse fields (phytotherapeutic, food and cosmetic).
This strange fruit is also mentioned in ancient literature, described as a good ingredient to prepare tasty sweet sauces to accompany salmon.
It is said that until the end of the 80s of the twentieth century, the harvest of sea buckthorn fruits was very abundant, particularly in the Friulian and western Alpine mountainous areas (no more than 1,500 meters above sea level).
General description
The diffusion of the sea buckthorn ranges from the European Atlantic coasts to the north-east of China. In general, it is also distributed in Central Asia, preferring desert and hostile areas: this explains why the sea buckthorn is defined as a survival champion , dismantling the competition of other plants which are denied the possibility of growing and developing in similar lands. Nevertheless, the plant fears shady areas and / or near trees.
Botanical analysis
The sea buckthorn is the largest exponent of the genus Hippophae, belonging to the Eleagnaceae family: we are talking about a particularly branched thorny shrub, capable of reaching even 6 meters in height (in Asia there are some varieties that reach 10 meters). The leaves are deciduous, alternate, covered with a fine hair, and often wear a silver-colored dress, sometimes greenish-yellow. The flowers, rather small, appear disc-shaped and yellowish. The sea buckthorn plants are dioecious shrubs: the plant does not present at the same time female and male flowers, therefore, to obtain fruits, two different specimens are needed.
The fruits grow grouped along the branches: they appear as an elongated "olive, rather acidulous although edible, and used in particular to prepare syrups.
Fruit harvesting is sometimes problematic, due to the thorns protruding from the branches: in this regard, the sea buckthorn has long been considered an "ideal" defense "plant for hedges.
Chemical and nutritional components
In herbal medicine, sea buckthorn fruits, seeds and leaves are used for the extraction of active ingredients and chemical components. The oil extracted from the fruits constitutes a variable percentage from 5 to 9% (of which 53% is represented by acids unsaturated fats), according to the variety and quality of the sea-buckthorn. Among the organic acids are mentioned citric, malic, tartaric, oxalic and succinic. Sea buckthorn fruits are a source of vitamin C (695 mg per 100 grams of product, a much more abundant quantity than that of citrus fruits), carotenoids and tocopherol. Among the other chemical molecules, flavonoids (140 mg per 100 g), terpenes, sterols and pectins cannot be missing in fruits.
The leaves, on the other hand, are rich in triterpene molecules, catechin and gallic tannins. The essential oil extracted from the seeds is a source of unsaturated fatty acids, in particular linoleic (linolenic and oleic are found in halved quantities compared to linoleic). [chemical composition extracted from Dictionary of Phytotherapy and Medicinal Plants, by Enrica Capanini]
Property
In ancient times, the fruits of the sea buckthorn were used in folk medicine for laxative purposes, while the leaves and flowers seemed to act positively in the treatment of skin diseases, respiratory difficulties, rheumatism and gout.
Nowadays, sea buckthorn is widely used for its richness in vitamin C, which characterizes its phytotherapeutic use: it is estimated that a glass of juice obtained from these fruits can contain up to 33 mg of ascorbic acid, equal to quantity calculated in a fresh orange juice.
Not surprisingly, sea buckthorn fruits are widely used for their remineralizing and tonic properties; for the same reason, the plant is also used in the treatment of immune deficiencies, in the prevention of infectious diseases, in states of inappetence and asthenia.
Vitamin C promotes wound healing: not surprisingly, sea buckthorn juice is also recommended in the postoperative period.
The antioxidant virtues of vitamin C are enhanced by the synergistic action of beta carotene and vitamin E.
For external use, sea buckthorn fruits are used for their marked astringent and anti-inflammatory properties, in the treatment of inflammation of the gums and of the oral mucosa in general.
The importance of sea buckthorn does not stop only at the conspicuous quantity of vitamin C: the plant, in fact, also boasts healing, anti-inflammatory, capillarotropic and antperioxidative properties, while the mother tincture of young leaves and branches is used in the treatment of mild forms of enteritis.
In the light of recent studies, further and interesting properties have emerged attributable to the sea buckthorn: the peel that covers the fruits is made up of a lipid fraction involved in the healing action of the gastric mucosa. This property was widely demonstrated on animal models: sea buckthorn peels are potentially capable of decreasing the proteolytic action of acid proteases located near the gastric mucosa. The healing activity is fortified by the co-presence of flavonoids, molecules to which the anti-inflammatory and capillarotropic activity is also due.
Furthermore, the flavonoids contained in sea buckthorn leaves and fruits boast an antioxidative activity, capable of ensuring the protection of the membranes from damage induced by lipid oxidation. [From Dictionary of Phytotherapy and Medicinal Plants, by Enrica Campanini]
Toxicology
Fortunately, the sea buckthorn is not classified as a potentially toxic plant, except - clearly - for particularly sensitive individuals.
In case of kidney stones, the consumption of fruits or derivatives based on sea buckthorn is not recommended: vitamin C, in fact, can favor the excretion of oxalates (see diet and kidney stones).
Sea buckthorn in brief »
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