jing luo, negative energy & nutrients (14)

The holy berry from the desert -- Seabuckthorn What is SeaBuckthorn ? Legends During ancient Mongolian time it was a legend that Gengis Khan led his army through Gobi desert and during the journey their horses were injured or sick. They then set free their horses which were then inflicted with injuries, serious disease into the desert without any hope that the horses would be able to survive. However on their way back to Mongolia, the Gengis Khan was surprised to notice that their horses were not only living but had fully recovered from disease and injuries. They took pain to investigate and finally discovered that the cure for the disease and injuries was none other than the shrub fruits and leaves that thrived in the desert and highland. The shrub trees bear tiny yellow or orange berries. They also noticed that the skin of the horses was shining. The berry was subsequently referred to by the Mongolia and Tibetan as “holy fruit”. The berry had been listed in “the Chinese Pharmacopoeia” as the precious resource that can be used for food and medicine. The berry is none other than what we called today, the Seabuckthorn. Coincidentally there is another legend which said that before 12 century BC, the ancient Greeks were indeed surprised to find their sick and injured horses which were set free to die not only recovered from sickness and injuries but on the contrary became stronger and more energetic than before. They also discovered a kind of shrubbery that cured their horses. They named the tree as “Sallow thorn” presumably from the berries which can stain the skin yellow and is also known as Hippophae Rhamnoides L which mean giving light to a horse as the word “hippos” means horse and “phaos” means light. This is berry is Seabuckthorn. Mongolia and Greece are countries in two separate continents and the coincidental findings of the beneficial effect of Seabuckthorn came to us as a surprise. Thus there must be something in Seabuckthorn to warrant the medicinal usage in those days and also warrant further in depth research into this wonderful “holy fruit” - the seabuckthorn! In fact many medicinal usages have been found through years of research and study and the medicinal properties of Seabuckthorn are reported in many of the medical journals. Medicinal application of Seabuckthorn was first recorded in Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). In the Tibetan medicinal classics, namely, the Four Books of Pharmacopoeia where the medical uses of Seabuckthorn were recorded and narrated in detail in 24 chapters. In Yuan Dynasty from 1271 to 1368, Seabuckthorn fruits were confirmed as health products for Emperors. Its medicinal values and health care functions were again recorded in the pharmacopoeia of the "the Pearl Material Medica" in the Qing Dynasty during 1644 and 1911. In 1977 Seabuckthorn was referred to in the "Chinese Pharmacopoeia". Seabuckthorn was been confirmed by Chinese Ministry of Public Health as one of the plant species not only for foodstuff and medicine but also for re-forestation of desert and environmental protection. The findings of the medicinal property of Seabuckthorn have attracted world wide attention and even European Commission had sponsored a project namely, Establishment of European Asian Network for development of strategies to enhance the sustainable usage of Seabuckthorn. This reinforced the findings that Seabuckthorn does have certain beneficial effects to our health though the mystery of Seabuckthorn is yet to be fully unlocked but what had been unlocked has shown tremendous benefit to the health and well being of the people. Seabuckthorn has many economic, nutritional and medicinal benefits and values. China, Mongolia and Russia are pioneers among the Seabuckthorn growing countries in the world delving into the research of Seabuckthorn for various purposes like food, medicine and cosmetics. Seabuckthorn Plant Seabuckthorn is a hardy, fast growing deciduous tree like shrub which grows well in dry soil or desert to a height between 2 to 4 meters with yellow to orange berries depending on the variety of the family. Its roots can go very deep about 30 0ver feet into the soil and it is for this reason Seabuckthorn is able to thrive in desert despite the severe climatic condition and it is also for this reason that Seabuckthorn is chosen as a plant for re-forestation and prevention for soil erosion. It has thorns which are enough to ward off the most thick skinned bugs and birds. The tree has rough brown or black bark and a thick greyish green crown. Leaves are alternate, narrow and with a silver grey colour on the under side. The berry is oval in shape and the colour ranges from yellow to orange depending on the variety. Seabuckthorn oil According to Russian and Chinese scientists, Seabuckthorn contains about 190 bio-active components of which 106 are in the oil. Seabuckthorn contains wonderful bio-active substances and nutrients and about 90% of the oil is unsaturated fatty acid including (i) linolenic acid (Omega 3) (ii) linoleic acid (Omega 6), (iii) Oleic acid (Omega 9), (iv) palmitoleic acid (Omega 7). The Omega 3 and Omega 6 are in almost perfect ratio of 1:1. Seabuckthorn oil is especially rich in the rare form of Omega-7 series of fatty acid which is beneficial to the skin. Omega-3 fatty acid family is also called DHA [DocasalHexaenoic Acid]. Although DHA can be synthesized in the body from alpha-linolenic acid but the capacity for synthesis declines with age. The Omega-3 and Omega-6 family of fatty acids are essential to health because they cannot be synthesized in the body but must be obtained from the diet. Another most important long chain fatty acids in Omega-3 family is EPA [EicosaPentaenoic Acid]. Seabuckthorn oil is especially rich in Omega-7 series fatty acid ( palmitoleic acid) which accounts for about 30% of the total oil. Omega 3 helps to reduce blood pressure, dissolves accumulated fat, altering platelet aggregation and promote metabolism thereby reducing the tendency of the blood to clot. It also helps to decrease total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and decrease the risk of heart disease. It is the DHA in heart cell membranes rather than DHA in the bloodstream which is protective [ Prevention of Cardiac Arrhythmia by Dietary (n-3) Polyunsaturated Fatty acids and their mechanism of action-- Sudheera Nair et.al] Though Omega 3 fatty acids can be found in fish but with the industrial and domestic effluents being discharged into the sea, the sea has become polluted and the fatty acids derived from the fish in the sea will inevitably be polluted. Hence the safest fatty acids will be those derived from plants which grow wild in the nature. SeaBuckthorn oil also rich in nutrients and vitamins. The vitamins include A (derived from -carotene), C, E, B1, B2, K and P. According to Current Science vol.88 No.1, 10 January 2005 under the title Seabuckthorn: Oil with promising medicinal value by T. Parimelazhagan, O.P Chaurasia and Z.Ahmed it was stated that the Seabuckthorn fruits contain high amount of bio-active substances. It contains 5 to 100 times more vitamin C (ascorbic acid) than any other known fruit or vegetable. It is ranked 4th after rosehips, hot chili pepper and sweet red pepper. Seabuckthorn oil contains twice the amount of vitamin E (-tocopherol) as wheat oil, nine times as much as corn oil and a stunning 35 times as much as soybean oil and is in second place after wheatgerm oil. D-a-tocopherol (the most potent vitamin E form) is the major form of vitamin E in Seabuckthorn oil. [B. Aluokumofu Pharmacological Effects of Seabuckthorn Oil. HIPPOPHAE. Sept. 1992, Vol. 5 (8)]. Seabuckthorn appears to has an unsurpassed natural source of vitamins A, carotenes and flavonoids. Seabuckthorn oil also has a high content of b-carotene which is in 4th place after carrots, rosehips and sweet red peppers. The b-carotene content gives the berries their colour which can vary from yellow to red depending on the variety. Among the carotenes found in Seabuckthorn are alfa – and beta- carote lycopene, cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin, taraxanthin and phytofluin. Seabuckthorn oil also consists of flavonoids, carotenoids, folic acid numerous microelements and more than 28 trace elements including iron, zinc, selenium, manganese, copper, iodine, nickel, magnesium, sodium etc. It has been reported that besides the above elements it also contains 42 lipids, carbohydrates, tocopherols, phenols, terpenes, phytosterols, steroids such as B- sitosterol, B-amyrin, a-amyrin and tannin. Phytochemicals such as flavonoids, carotenoids and phytosterols are found in Seabuckthorn oil. Yang Cunshe ( hippophae 1995, vol.8 No.1 pp 33-35) shows in a clinical study that seabuckthorn has the effect of decreasing total cholesterol and triglycerides and by increasing HDL.