TCM Chinese Herbs – What is Sea Buckthorn?

Sea Buckthorn

Sea buckthorn primarily grows in shady areas in colder climates such as China, Russia, and Canada. Every part of the sea buckthorn plant is used for healing — the small branches, leaves, skin, pulp and seeds. It can boost your immune system, heal serious skin ailments such as eczema and radiation burns, and help to fight fatigue and boost energy.

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Sea Buckthorn is full of nutrients and has a nutrient combination that increases its healing abilities.

For instance, the seeds contain high levels of antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, and flavonoids, which help to strengthen one immune system and protect one from disease, and strengthen one heart. It’s also loaded with essential fatty acids, in particular palmitoleic acid, which is a component of skin.

If one is looking for natural alternatives to the beauty products found in your local pharmacy, sea buckthorn should be at the top of your list. The essential fatty acids and antioxidants are potent skin protectors and healers.

Like the acai berry, sea buckthorn is used to treat inflammation, making it beneficial for treating skin conditions such as acne, dermatitis, or eczema. It can also heal wounds, sunburns, and improve the collagen level in skin. Sea buckthorn also mirrors acai in its ability to lower cholesterol, and improve cardiovascular function.

External Benefits of Sea Buckthorn
For thousands of years, herbalists in many parts of the world have lauded the miraculous skin healing benefits of the Sea Buckthorn plant, and it appears that more recently, many of the larger skin care companies are beginning to sit up and take notice as well.

Sea buckthorn is now a common ingredient in many brand name skin care products, especially those companies which boast an “All natural” approach to skin health and restoration.

Sea Buckthorn is a plant which grows primarily in colder climates and is widespread in areas of northern China, Russia and even parts of Canada. The plant produces a golden-orange berry which is rich in antioxidants, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E, along with fatty acids and oils essential for cardiovascular and overall skin health.

The Topical Benefits of Sea Buckthorn Extract
As a topical formula, the bio-active extract of the sea buckthorn plant’s seeds, pulp and kernels has been shown to have a number of amazing benefits and is used as a dermatological application for everything from anti-aging and anti wrinkling to wound and burn healing and skin restoration.

Anti-wrinkle and Anti-aging
Those looking to attain a more youthful appearance and glow, and slow the process of natural skin aging, will benefit immensely from products containing sea buckthorn extract. Research conducted in China and across Europe shows that the extract of the sea buckthorn plant is highly effective for reducing the appearance of wrinkles, and retards the process of skin maturation to produce a noticeable anti-aging effect. Commonly used in a variety of lotions and anti-aging creams, sea buckthorn seems to improve the skin’s metabolism, and because of the high levels of vitamin E and vitamin A, deeply softens skin and makes it more resistant to both external and internal irritants. Additional internal health benefits of Sea Buckthorn can be found here.

Sun-Block and Tan Enhancer
Sea buckthorn is commonly found in both sun-block and tan-enhancing products. The extract from the sea buckthorn berry absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays and protect the skin from potentially dangerous sun exposure. Sea buckthorn oil is also very high in beta-carotene which, when used as a tan enhancer, works to naturally and gradually bronze and beautify the skin.

Wound Care and Skin Restoration
Much of the research involving the sea buckthorn berry is concentrated on its ability to heal wounds and soothe burns, along with its effectiveness in restoring the overall health of the skin. This research seems to support that sea buckthorn extract can actually promote skin cell regeneration, helping wounds to heal more rapidly, while restoring, healing and rebalancing the skin. Sea buckthorn oil is commonly found in a number of skin-healing products and is exceedingly useful in the treatment of burns, skin ulcers, acne, dermatitis and even skin cancer.

Aside from being effective in the fight against many forms of skin disease, sea buckthorn berries also help boost the immune system, and the rich levels of vitamin A and vitamin E make the extract the perfect solution in the fight against free radicals in the body which can ultimately damage the skin.

Internal Benefits of Sea Buckthorn
It’s an orange berry that has been used medicinally in Asia and Europe for hundreds of years, and its long history in traditional medicine around the world also bolsters its healthy reputation. Now, it’s the West’s turn to reap the benefits of this truly awesome fruit.

Sea buckthorn, a deciduous shrub native to the mountainous regions of China and Russia, the country remains the number one exporter of the extract, but other countries, including Canada and many European nations are producing large amounts of sea buckthorn to meet an increasing worldwide demand. China offers a number of well documented health benefits, and is rapidly gaining popularity throughout the world as a nutritional and medicinal supplement. Originally grown to help prevent soil erosion in the treeless regions of China, this powerful plant provides natural treatment solutions for a number of different conditions.

The sea buckthorn plant produces a small, orange-colored berry, rich in vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, fatty acids (omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 oils), flavonoids, amino acids, and a number of other minerals and bio-active compounds. The extract from the pulp and seeds is available in many different forms, including juices, teas and capsule supplements.

Sea Buckthorn Benefits
Extensive research in China and Europe has uncovered a number of potential health benefits associated with the sea buckthorn plant. When used as a topical application (creams, oils and lotions), for example, sea buckthorn has been proven effective in the treatment of burns and wounds, and a number of other skin conditions. You can follow the link to discover more about the external health benefits of Sea Buckthorn. When taken internally--usually in the form of juices, teas and supplements—sea buckthorn may help to treat and prevent many dangerous conditions.

Vitamin E, Ascorbic acid, fatty acids, protein (specifically albumins and globulins) can also be found in sea buckthorn. Plus, it has bioactive substances and protein that all play a role in healing and rejuvenation. Although the level of nutrients in sea buckthorn varies depending on where it’s grown, it’s still by far one of the most nutritious fruits on the planet.

Sea buckthorn been used for over a thousand years in China to improve digestion, promote blood circulation, and relieve cough and chronic pain.

In Russia, the oil from sea buckthorn seeds is used to treat burns, eczema, frostbite, lupus, and psoriasis. Mongolians treat colitis and enterocolitis with extracts from the branches and leaves.

Sea buckthorn is commonly added to prescriptions in Indian medicine to treat metabolic, gastro-intestinal, cardiac, and blood disorders. In ancient Tibetan medicine, sea buckthorn is a remedy for cough, colds, fever, inflammation, toxicity, abscesses, colon cleansing, gynecological diseases, and tumors (mainly in esophagus and stomach).

Here we take a closer look at some of those benefits:

Cardiovascular and Cerebral
The sea buckthorn plant contains many ingredients vital to both cardiovascular and cerebral health. The oil from the seeds, which contains flavonoids and fatty acids such as omega-3 oil, helps to reduce blood fat levels, and the vitamins from the extract help to boost the immune system, which in turn helps to build stronger blood vessels.

Of the many unsaturated fatty acids contained in the sea buckthorn plant, linoleic acid helps to reduce and regulate blood pressure, while oleic acid helps to reduce and control cholesterol. This combination, according to experts, is extremely important in the prevention of heart attacks and strokes.

Gastrointestinal
Sea Buckthorn contains a number of important anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer substances. The oil in the plant provides a protective coating to the lining of the stomach and helps to ease inflammation. The anti-inflammatory agents, such as sitosterol and usorlic acid help to prevent and contain the spread of gastric ulcers, while the oil limits and regulates the production of gastric acid.

Liver
Sea buckthorn oil can also be used in the treatment of liver cirrhosis, helping to regulate the liver enzymes, and may help to prevent liver disorders by blocking the effects of alcohol and other toxic substances.

Women’s
The anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties of sea buckthorn plant can help combat a number of gynecological and menstrual issues in women, including, but not limited to, menstrual pain, cervical erosion, vaginitis and cervicitis.

Men’s
The vitamins and minerals found in the sea buckthorn plant work to boost the immune system and strengthen and heal mucous membranes in men, which can help ward off and treat problems with the prostate. The oil also helps to heal dry, irritated skin and helps with stress and memory difficulties.

Other Benefits
Sea buckthorn extract has a number of other internal uses, including treatment for radiation burns in cancer patients, chronic fatigue, depression, immune boosting in those prone to colds and flu, poor appetite, and regulation of the endocrine system.

In summary, sea buckthorn oil, whether taken as a juice, tea or capsule has a wide range of uses and is effective in the treatment of cardiovascular, cerebral and gastrointestinal disorders, along with helping to address many common conditions afflicting both men and women.