CULTIVATION

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is a very common shrub which is grown worldwide in temperate to cold climates. Its name literally translates to “shining horse”. Horses were fed sea buckthorn to improve the condition of their coats. It is often planted as an ornamental or as a wind break plant because it is very easy to cultivate and requires very little input.

Agricultural plantings are rare because of the difficulty of harvesting the berries. Although the berries persist on the plant over winter, the berries must be harvested by hand during a 2 week period for use in oil and juice production. The plant’s long thorns make harvest difficult accounting for almost 2/3 of the cost of the berries.

Expected yields are around 11 to 15 lb. per plant or 1.8 to 2.2 tons/acre. The bulk of agricultural production occurs in Eastern Europe, Northern Europe and China. Canada is attempting to emerge as a producer too because the plant is already widely distributed though out the Prairies. Click here for the international organization that promotes sea buckthorn production and usage.

USES

Sea buckthorn has a long history of medicinal use in both Europe and Asia. Here is an example of ancient Tibetan medical uses. Many other cultures have traditionally used sea buckthorn. This is due in part to its unique chemical makeup. Current investigations range from prevention and treatment of cirrhosis of the liver to inhibition of blood clotting in heart patients. These applications involve using sea buckthorn products are dietary supplements.

Sea buckthorn oil use has also been reported for skin therapy including sun, heat, chemical and radiation burns. These uses usually involve topical application of the oil to the affected area. Typically, lotions or salves are used to deliver the oil. Many unproven anecdotal reports of its any aging properties exist, but its chemical composition would lend credence to many of these reports. Sea Buckthorn was added to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia in 1977.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Juice

The fruit of the sea buckthorn plant yields 60% to 85% juice. The juice is very high in organic acids and has a low pH (near 2.7). Protein levels are fairly high for a fruit juice High Vitamin C (0.6 %) and Vitamin E (0.16%) contents have been reported in the juice. Both the pulp and seeds contain triglyceride oils with important medicinal value.

Oil

There are two sources of oil in sea buckthorn fruit. The seeds contain 10%-15% oil and the pulpy fruit contains 29%-48% oil. The oils vary in vitamin E content depending upon how they are derived. The range is from 0.2 to 0.6 %. Carotenoid content also varies depending upon the source of the oil. The seed oils contain 73% or more of the unsaturated linoleic or linolenic fatty acids. Pulp oil contains more saturated fatty acids with about 38% palmitic acid and 14%-50% palmitoleic acid. The essential fatty acids in Sea Buckthorn oil are very rare, and are required for good health. Snowdrift Farm offers seabuckthorn seed oil for sale.

Phytosterols

Phytosterols are the major constituents of the unsaponifiable fraction of sea buckthorn oils. The major phytosterol in sea buckthorn oil is sitosterol (?-sitosterol), with 5-avenasterol second in quantitative importance. Other phytosterols are present in relatively minor quantities. The phytosterol content is quite high in sea buckthorn oil and exceeds that of soybean oil by up to 20 times. Because of the unusual composition of Sea Buckthorn oil, it is often thought of as an essential oil rather than a fixed oil.

PROCESSING AND PRODUCTS

The sea buckthorn can be processed into a wide variety of products.

Juice Extraction

Juice extraction is often the first step in processing. The freshly pressed juice separates into sludge, juice and oil. Traditionally, this oil and the sludge are removed using a centrifuge followed by UHT pasteurization to preserve the heat sensitive compounds in the product. The juice is used to supplement health drinks and foods.

Oil Extraction

Sea buckthorn oil extraction can be done using several methods. Pulp oil exists in the juice pulp and can be isolated as a cream layer during centrifuge treatment as a part of juice production. Countercurrent extraction of the seed or pulp with an organic solvent, commonly hexane is an old time method of recovering the oils. This method is rarely used because of concern over solvent residues. Supercritical fluid extraction (SCE) using carbon dioxide under high pressure is the modern method of oil extraction. It is both efficient and environmentally sound. Carbon dioxide becomes a liquid under certain pressure and temperature conditions making it useful as an extraction solvent. The liquid CO2 and extracted oil are transferred to a tank where the pressure is released and both the CO2 for reuse and the product are recovered.

Pigment

A pigment termed “sea buckthorn yellow” can be extracted from sea buckthorn waste material. The pigment can be extracted with alcohol or using supercritical CO2 methods.

Other Products

A wide variety of products from herbal teas to cattle feed and firewood can be produced from Sea Buckthorn.

Click here for the sea buckthorn certificate of analysis.

Click here for the sea buckthorn MSDS.

Click here to purchase sea buckthorn CO2 extract.