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Sea buckthorn oil is derived from plants in a group of species of the genus Hippophae, the most commonly used of which is Hippophae rhamnoides. As species belonging to this genus accumulate lipids in the mesocarp (the fleshy part of the fruit), oil can be extracted from either the seeds or the pulp of the fruit.
Contents
Chemical constituents
Oil content in seeds of sea buckthorn is on average 7-11 % while oil content of pulp is around 1.5-3 % (per fresh weight). Seed oil is characterized with high contents of polyunsaturated fatty acids while pulp oil contains monounsaturated fatty acids and carotenoids. Both oils also contain dense amounts of tocopherols, tocotrienols and plant sterols.
Fatty acids
Oils from sea buckthorn seeds and pulp differ considerably in fatty acid composition. While linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid are the major fatty acids in seed oil, sea buckthorn pulp oil contains approximately 65% combined of the monounsaturated fatty acid, palmitoleic acid, and the saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid. Few other vegetable oils contain a similar quantity of these fatty acids.
Tocopherols and tocotrienols
α-Tocopherol is the major vitamin E compound in sea buckthorn. Seed oil also contains considerable amounts of gamma-tocopherol. The total amount of tocopherols and tocotrienols in seed oil is roughly 100–300 mg/100 g and in pulp oil 100–200 mg/100 g of oil.
Carotenoids
As carotenoids are the pigments that give sea buckthorn berry its distinctive colour, these compounds are present in high amounts in pulp oil. However, the total content of carotenoids varies (300–2000 mg/100 g) greatly between different growth locations and subspecies. In general, the main carotenoids present in pulp oil are beta-carotene, zeaxanthin and lycopene.
Plant sterols
Both seed and pulp oil also contain considerable amounts of plant sterols (12-23 g/kg and 10-29 g/kg of oil, respectively). Beta-sitosterol is the major sterol compound throughout the berry which constitutes 57-83% of total sterols.
Research
Laboratory work is examining sea buckthorn oil for its potential properties, although there is no evidence as of 2017 that it has any effect on human health.