Sea buckthorn

Deciduous sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a native plant of the sea buckthorn genus (Hippophae), within the olive family. It can reach a height of growth of 4 to 5m. The sea buckthorn has a deep and extensive root system, which gives it a special wind resistance. The wind resistance and salt tolerance makes it superior to other coastal woody plants. The lanceolate leaves of buckthorn are short stalked and about 4.0 - 8.0 cm long and 0.3 to 0.8 cm wide. The flowers of sea buckthorn are stalked and yellow-green in color. Depending on the variety, the 0.6 to 0.8 cm large, oval, orange-red to yellow fruits of the sea buckthorn are ready for harvest from mid-August to mid-September.

Sea buckthorn is used for oil extraction for medicinal and cosmetic purposes, dietary as vitamin juice for colds.

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The flesh of sea buckthorn berries has a high vitamin C content (200 - 900 mg per 100 g of flesh); it also contains beta-carotene and tanning agents as well as small amounts of vitamin B12. Sea buckthorn pulp contains between 3-5% oil.

Sea buckthorn oil (seed and fruit oil or mixed) is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic acid, linolenic acid, palmitoleic acid) with a high content of carotene derivatives and vitamin C.

The sea buckthorn lives in symbiosis with ray fungi, which supply it with nitrogen and enable it to live in the nutrient-poor sand.

Used cosmetically:

Hippophae rhamnoides extract, the fruit extract

Hippophae rhamnoides oil, the sea buckthorn oil

Hippophae rhamnoides kernel extract, the extract from the kernels of fruits

1. Edraki M et al. (2014) Healing effect of sea buckthorn, olive oil, and their mixture on full-thickness burn wounds. Adv Skin Wound Care 27:317-323.
2. Fatima T et al.(2012) Fatty acid composition of developing sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) berry and the transcriptome of the mature seed. PLoS One 7(4):e34099.
3. Järvinen RL et al. (2011) Effects of oral sea buckthorn oil on tear film fatty acids in individuals with dry eye. Cornea 30:1013-1019.
4. Khan BA et al. (2014) Hippophae rhamnoides oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion improves barrier function in healthy human subjects. Pak J Pharm Sci 27:1919-1922.
5. Sajfrtová M et al. (2010) β-Sitosterol: supercritical carbon dioxide extraction from sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) seeds. Int J Mol Sci 11:1842-1850.
6. https://pflanzen.fnr.de/industrialplants/medicinalplants/plant-database.