Application of sea buckthorn (fruit) oil in health food

• Preface – Sea buckthorn

Sea buckthorn (Hip pophae rhamnoides L), also known as vinegar willow, sour thorn, is the ripe fruit and leaves of sea buckthorn, a perennial shrub or small tree of the family Hip pophae. Sea buckthorn fruit is harvested in autumn and winter when ripe or frozen hard to remove impurities, dried or steamed and dried. Domestic production is mainly in Shaanxi, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi, Liaoning and other provinces. Due to long-term severe and changeable ecological changes and physiological adaptation to adversity, sea buckthorn fruits are rich in more than 190 kinds of nutrients and bioactive substances. As a natural wild medicinal and edible plant, sea buckthorn was listed in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia in 1977. Sea buckthorn fruit is a better health food and medicine, first recorded in the Tang Dynasty, written in more than 800 AD Tibetan medicine classic "Four Medical Classics" recorded that sea buckthorn has the functions of expectorant, lung benefit, dampness, yin nourishment, aphrodisiac, and recorded the effect of sea buckthorn in strengthening the spleen and nourishing the stomach, dissolving stasis and stopping bleeding. The mainland Yuan Dynasty sea buckthorn fruit was listed as a health care product of the court, and the Qing Dynasty's pharmacopoeia "Jingzhu Materia Medica" also recorded the medicinal health care function of sea buckthorn [1].

Sea buckthorn leaves have been classified as general food management by the health administration in 2013. Sea buckthorn fruit is one of the items used for both medicine and food, and is a medicinal herb used by Mongolian and Tibetan ethnic groups. Sea buckthorn fruit contains flavonoids, organic acids, vitamins, etc., which can strengthen the spleen and eliminate food, relieve cough and expectorant, and activate blood and disperse stasis. It is used for spleen deficiency and less food, abdominal pain, cough and sputum, chest paralysis and heartache, blood stasis and menstrual amenorrhea, and bruising [2]. In food, common direct consumption, there are also beverages, such as sea buckthorn juice; You can also make jam, or drink wine, etc.

• Overview of sea buckthorn oil

Sea buckthorn fruit oil (hereinafter collectively referred to as sea buckthorn oil) is a natural vegetable oil, is the essence of sea buckthorn, using high-quality selected sea buckthorn fruit as raw material through juicing, high-speed centrifugal separation, plate and frame filtration and other processes to obtain brown-red clear and transparent oily liquid. Sea buckthorn oil contains a variety of fatty acids such as palmitoleic acid, linolenic acid and linoleic acid, a variety of vitamins and trace elements, carotenoids and many other active ingredients. After modern pharmacological research, sea buckthorn oil is a good functional vegetable oil, which has the functions of lowering blood lipids, protecting the liver, improving the body's immunity, and antioxidant. The stability of sea buckthorn oil is good, and it can be stored for more than 10 years at room temperature. As a health product with high nutritional value, sea buckthorn oil has been used in many fields such as food, health products, medicine, cosmetics and food additives [3].

• The main ingredients and health functions of sea buckthorn oil

1. Sea buckthorn oil contains fatty acids, such as palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, etc. Some studies have shown that palmitoleic acid has the functions of controlling weight, preventing type II diabetes, preventing cardiovascular disease, protecting the liver and anti-inflammatory. As we all know, linolenic acid and linoleic acid are necessary unsaturated fatty acids for the human body, linolenic acid has the effect of lowering blood lipids, lowering blood pressure, improving memory, protecting eyesight, delaying aging and so on; Linoleic acid can reduce blood cholesterol and has the effect of preventing atherosclerosis. Fatty acids can also form an effective protective film at the damaged mucosa to resist external attack factors, such as gastric acid and bacteria, and play a role in protecting the gastric mucosa [1][3][4].
2. Sea buckthorn oil contains a large amount of natural vitamin E, which has unique characteristics and is twice as bioavailable as synthetic vitamin E. Vitamin E, a fat-soluble vitamin, is an essential nutrient for mammals to maintain fertility, so it is also called tocopherol. A large number of experimental studies have shown that when vitamin E is deficient, the body's humoral immunity, cellular immunity and non-specific immunity are reduced or inhibited to varying degrees, and supplementing an appropriate amount of vitamin E can improve or restore immune function. Under normal circumstances, the body's free radical production and scavenging are in a balanced state, and with the increase of age, due to the continuous decline of antioxidant enzyme activity, the excess free radicals produced in the body cannot be removed in time, resulting in changes in cell metabolism and functional form. At the same time, the body's immune system function gradually declines, reducing the body's defense ability and thus accelerating the aging process. Because people properly supplement vitamin E, can reduce the oxidative damage of physical strength, improve the body's immune ability, so as to achieve the purpose of prolonging life [3][5].
3. Sea buckthorn oil contains natural carotenoids such as β-carotene. Carotenoids are the main source of vitamin A in the body, and also have antioxidant, immunomodulating, anti-cancer, anti-aging and other effects. β-carotene, after ingestion into the human digestive organs, can be converted into vitamin A, is a safer product to supplement vitamin A (simple supplement chemical synthesis of vitamin A, excessive will cause poisoning). It can maintain the health of the eyes and skin, improve night blindness, rough skin. β-Carotene, which has antioxidant properties due to its ability to scavenge free radicals, improves the immune system resistance of the human immune system [6][7].
4. Sea buckthorn oil contains a variety of trace elements, such as selenium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese and other indispensable content of the human body.

• Application of sea buckthorn oil in health food registration (2003 to the end of November 2022)

1. Product dosage form: Because sea buckthorn oil is liquid, it is most suitable for preparation into a soft capsule dosage form. Softgels have the advantages of easy carrying, controllable quality and easy to eat, and the existing approved health foods made of sea buckthorn oil are soft capsules.

2. Distribution of health care functions: From 2003 to 2022, there were 23 approved health food registration certificates containing sea buckthorn oil, and the most health care function was to enhance immunity, followed by lowering blood lipids, and then antioxidant function. There are 7 dual-functional, and the remaining 16 are single-functional. The distribution of health care functions in the top three is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 Health functions in the first 3 registration certificates containing sea buckthorn oil

3. Matching category: From 2003 to 2022, among the 23 approved health food registration certificates containing sea buckthorn oil, 17 were compounded with raw materials and 6 were unilateral, see Figure 2.

Figure 2 Composition of raw materials in the registration certificate containing sea buckthorn oil

4. Geographical distribution of registrants: Among the 23 approved health food registration certificates containing sea buckthorn oil, North China has the most, more than 50%, with 14; The Southwest region has the least, 1, as detailed in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Geographical distribution of seabuckthorn oil registration certificate

5. Distribution of approval registration certificates in the past 20 years: In the past 20 years, the registration declaration of health food containing sea buckthorn oil was 4 in 2022, followed by 2014, with 3. The status of approval of registration certificates by year is shown in figure 4.

Figure 4 Distribution of approved registration certificates in the past 20 years

• Concluding remarks – outlook

Sea buckthorn not only has a lot of research and wide application in China, but also cultivation, food and research abroad, such as Russia, Canada, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Mongolia, the United States, etc. In the former Soviet Union, since the 50s of the 20th century, a large number of studies and reports, especially the essence of sea buckthorn oil, with anti-inflammatory, analgesic, bactericidal, repair skin and mucous membranes, anti-radiation, anti-aging, regulate immunity, liver protection function, etc., so sea buckthorn oil is used in medicine, cosmetics, food and other aspects [8].

With the improvement of living standards, people's demand for healthy food is increasing, and the requirements for healthy food are also increasing. Sea buckthorn oil is a highly nutritious and functional natural vegetable oil, sea buckthorn has extensive cultivation in the mainland, sufficient resources, and the process of extracting sea buckthorn oil is also mature. It is believed that in the near future, more health foods containing sea buckthorn oil will be registered and approved, which will become a highlight in health food. (This article is as of November 24, 2022)

Note: 1) The data and information in this article come from the special food information inquiry platform of the State Administration for Market Regulation. Due to the delay in the release of information on the special food information inquiry platform, the data in this article is for reference only, and the actual situation is subject to the information published on the official website.

2) This article is original and reproduction is strictly prohibited; If reproduced, please indicate the source of the official website of "Beijing Xinjin Certificate".

Reference:

1. WANG Honghao et al. Historical Records of Medicinal Use and Drug Development Status of Sea Buckthorn in Mainland China[J]. International Seabuckthorn Research and Development. 2012,30(4).
2. National Pharmacopoeia Commission. Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 Edition, Part I[M]. Beijing: China Medical Science and Technology Press.
3. Zang Xixi et al. Research Progress on Functional Ingredients and Pharmacological Function of Sea Buckthorn Oil[J].China Oils and Fats,2015(005).
4. Liu. Research progress on palmitoleic acid function; Grain and oil[J], 2020, 33(3).
5. CHEN Bifeng et al. The antioxidant effect of natural vitamin E and its effect on immune function[J]; S China J Med, 2002, 28(5).
6. WANG Yeqin et al. Natural carotenoids - research progress, production and application[M]. China Medical Science and Technology Press,1997.
7. ZHU Xiuling et al.Research progress on physiological functions of β-carotene and its extraction technology[J]; Guangzhou Food Industry Science and Technology, 2004, 20(2).
8. Wu Fuxiang et al. Research and development of sea buckthorn oil in Russia (former Soviet Union)[J]. International Seabuckthorn Research and Development. 2004,2(2).