Baltistan Himalayan Organic Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil – 30 ml

Sea buckthorn oil has been used for thousands of years as a natural remedy for various ailments.

It is extracted from the berries, leaves, and seeds of the sea buckthorn plant (Hippophae rhamnoides), which is a small shrub that grows at high altitudes in the northwest Himalayan region. You can apply it to your skin or take it orally.

Sometimes referred to as the holy fruit of the Himalayas, it’s a popular remedy in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicines. It’s said to provide health benefits ranging from more radiant hair and skin to a lower risk of cancer and heart disease.

Here are 11 science-backed benefits of sea buckthorn oil.

Sea buckthorn is rich in various vitamins, minerals, and beneficial plant compounds. It’s naturally full of antioxidants, which help protect your body against aging and illnesses like cancer and heart disease.

Its berries are especially rich in vitamins A, C, K, and E. They also contain considerable amounts of iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper, and zinc.

In addition, its seeds and leaves are rich in phytosterols, a plant compound with many benefits — including blocking cholesterol from your diet from being absorbed in your body. This is one way in which sea buckthorn oil is though to reduce your risk of heart disease.

This oil can be sourced from the sea buckthorn seeds or berries and is considered the most valuable component of the plant.

It contains a high proportion of palmitoleic acid, which is also found in the fat of human skin. As such, this oil is thought to speed wound healing and keep your skin healthy.

Interestingly, sea buckthorn oil may also be one of the only plant foods known to provide all four omega fatty acids. What’s more, more than half of the fat found in this oil is mono- and polyunsaturated fat, which are two types of.

Sea buckthorn oil has been used as a traditional skin treatment for centuries.

It’s rich in unsaturated fat, antioxidants, phytosterols, carotenoids, and vitamins E and K — all of which function together to protect your skin’s integrity and promote its renewal (2Trusted Source).

Sea buckthorn oil is also rich in palmitoleic acid, which is a type of fat naturally found in human skin that can be used to treat burns and promote wound healing (2Trusted Source).

It’s also a good source of linoleic acid (LA), an omega-6 fatty acid that’s the most abundant fatty acid in human skin. Research suggests that LA may reduce acne and psoriasis, as well as protect against dry or scaly skin (4Trusted Source).

In addition to LA, sea buckthorn oil contains other omega-6 fats, such as gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which may help reduce eczema and improve acne.

Furthermore, compounds in sea buckthorn oil appear promising in protecting your skin from the damaging effects of UV rays from the sun (5Trusted Source).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, sea buckthorn is commonly added to various pro-aging or wrinkle-reducing products. It’s also a common ingredient in products intended to treat dry, irritated, flaky or itchy skin (6Trusted Source).

That said, few of these purported benefits have been researched in humans. One of the only available studies reported lower psoriasis symptoms after application of a sea buckthorn extract for 4–8 weeks (7Trusted Source).

Therefore, more studies are needed before strong conclusions can be made.

Sea buckthorn oil may benefit heart health in several ways.

For starters, it’s rich in phytosterols, which are plant compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions that help protect your body from damage and disease, including heart disease (3Trusted Source).

These compounds also help block the absorption of cholesterol from your diet, which can help prevent LDL (bad) cholesterol from creating blockages in your blood vessels and arteries (3Trusted Source).

Additionally, sea buckthorn oil is a good source of quercetin, an antioxidant that’s directly linked to a lower risk of heart disease (2Trusted Source).

Sea buckthorn oil may help prevent diabetes and support healthy blood sugar.

Animal studies show that it may help reduce blood sugar levels by increasing insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity (4Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).

Overall, the better your body is able to secrete insulin, and the more sensitive your cells are to it, the lower your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Still, few human studies have examined the blood sugar-lowering effect of sea buckthorn oil directly.

In one of the few recent studies, 38 people with impaired blood sugar regulation — a risk factor for type 2 diabetes — drank 3 ounces (90 mL) of sea buckthorn fruit purée or a placebo for 5 weeks.

Sea buckthorn oil may help protect your body against infections.

Experts attribute this effect, in large part, to the high flavonoid content of the oil. Flavonoids are beneficial plant compounds that may strengthen your immune system by increasing resistance to illnesses (4).

In one test-tube study, sea buckthorn oil safeguarded against influenza, herpes, and HIV viruses (4).

Sea buckthorn oil also contains a good amount of antioxidants, which may also likewise defend your body against microbes (2Trusted Source).

That said, research in humans is lacking.

Sea buckthorn oil may contribute to a healthy liver.

That’s because it contains healthy fats, vitamin E, and carotenoids, all of which may safeguard liver cells from damage (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source).

In one older study, sea buckthorn oil significantly improved markers of liver function in rats with liver damage (12Trusted Source).

In another older, 6-month study, people with cirrhosis — an advanced form of liver disease — who took 15 grams of sea buckthorn extract 3 times per day increased their blood markers of liver function significantly more than those given a placebo (13Trusted Source).

Compounds like flavonoids and antioxidants in sea buckthorn oil may have anticancer effects.

For instance, sea buckthorn is rich in quercetin, a flavonoid which appears to help kill cancer cells (14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).

Sea buckthorn’s various other antioxidants, including carotenoids and vitamin E, may also offer protection (16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).

A few test-tube and animal studies suggest that sea buckthorn extracts may help prevent the spread of cancer cells (17Trusted Source).

Research in animals further suggests that sea buckthorn may safeguard healthy cells from the effects of radiotherapy, which is a common cancer treatment (17Trusted Source).

Keep in mind that these effects haven’t been tested in humans, so more studies are needed.

Although sea buckthorn oil is purported to give additional health benefits, not all claims are backed by science. Those with the most evidence include:

8. May improve digestion. Animal studies indicate that sea buckthorn oil may help prevent and treat stomach ulcers (18).
9. May relieve symptoms of menopause. Sea buckthorn may reduce vaginal drying and act as an effective alternative treatment for postmenopausal women who cannot take estrogen (2Trusted Source).
10. May treat dry eyes. One study linked daily sea buckthorn intake to reduced eye redness and burning (4Trusted Source).
11. May improve the appearance of hair. Sea buckthorn contains small amounts of lecithin, a type of fat that may remove excess oil from your hair. It may also help repair damaged hair and restore its elasticity (6Trusted Source).

It’s important to note that most of these studies are small and very few involve humans. Therefore, more research is needed before strong conclusions can be made.