What nutrients are in the Sea Buckthorn oils?
Sea Buckthorn is well known around most of the World but relatively new to Australia – so this is a common question posed to us.
When juice alone is extracted from the berry, it offers a range of antioxidants:
Antioxidant Composition of Sea Buckthorn Juice
| Items | mg/l |
|---|---|
| Vit E | 13.5 |
| ∝-, β-, γ- tocopherols | 12.4 |
| ∝-, β-, γ- tocotrienols | 1.1 |
| Vit C | 1540.0 |
| Carotenoids | 7.3 |
| Flavonoids | 1182.0 |
When the oils are extracted, more nutrients are released:
Chemical Composition of Sea Buckthorn Seed and Pulp Oils
| Seed Oil | Pulp Oil | |
|---|---|---|
| Fatty Acids (%) | ||
| Palmitic (omega 7) 16:0* | 6-10% | 15-405 |
| Palmitoleic (omega 7) 16.1 | <0.5% | 15-50% |
| Oleic (omega 9) 18:1 | 15-20% | 10-20% |
| Linoleic (Omega 6) 18:2 | 35-40% | 5-15% |
| ∝-Linolenic (Omega 3) 18:3 | 20-35% | 5-10% |
| Vitamins (mg/100g) | ||
| Vit K | 110-230 | 54-59 |
| Vit E | 207 | 171 |
| Tocopherols and tocotrienols | 100-200 | 100-400 |
| Carotenoids | 10-50 | 100-400 |
| Plant Sterols (%) | 1-2% | 2-3% |
* This is the lipid number of the component. The numbers in the lipid name are used to describe the fatty acid chains on the lipid. The numbers are generally presented in the format (number of carbons in fatty acid chain) : (number of double bonds in fatty acid chain), e.g., 16:0 would be 16 carbons in the fatty acid chain with zero double bonds, or the numeric representation of palmitic acid.
Vit K:
Vit K is often referred to as the forgotten vitamin so you may like to read a little about it. Information readily to hand if you have time to research:
One 500mg Sea Buckthorn capsule provides on average 125mcg Vit K. According to Dr Cees Vermeer (one of the world’s top vitamin K researchers), recommended daily intake is 45mcg to185mcg.
Vit K1 is obtained from some plants whereas Vit K2 is manufactured within our body and can be purchased as a supplement, and Vit K3 is a synthetic.
And what does Vit K do?
It is believed to help protect many aspects of the human body, and a Vit K deficiency is believed to have the potential to lead to health problems: in the cardio vascular system, with brain function, osteoporosis and tooth decay, several cancer types (prostate, lung, liver and leukemia), pneumonia.
The oils are concentrated values of either the berry (fruit/pulp/peel) or the seed. Whilst the oil content may vary with the size, colour of the berry and the harvesting time, the chemical composition is quite stable. Consideration should also be given to the extraction method with Super Critical CO2 extraction being the preferred method (for most oils) as high quality/quantity nutrients are produced with nil harmful additives from the process remaining in the oils. (Another plus for CO2 extraction is that it does not adversely impact our planet environment)
Naturally, no single food or derivative is going to provide every nutrient needed in the human body and of the amount needed daily. Sea Buckthorn oils contain a wide range of Omegas, tocopherols and tocotrienols (both antioxidants), carotenoids and Vitamins not found together from other single sources.