Effects of sea buckthorn oil on mucous membranes of patients of Sjgrens syndrome (1)

1Aromtech

Baoru Yang1 and Risto Erkkola2 Ltd, Tornio, Finland, info@aromtech.com, www.aromtech.com; 2Turku University Central Hospital, Turku, Finland, www.tyks.fi

Background The oils from the seeds (seed oil) and fruit pulp/peel (pulp oil) of sea buckthorn (Hippopha rhamnoides, Figure 1) are rich in multiple bioactive compounds. The oils have beneficial effects on the mucous membranes and the immune system of the body. Sjgrens syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease affecting primarily the exocrine glands. SS patients suffer from dryness, pain and inflammation in the mucous membranes. Test product and manufacturing technology A standardized sea buckthorn oil SBA 24 containing a mixture of seed oil and pulp oil of sea buckthorn was manufactured by supercritical CO2 extraction technology (Figure 2). Omega 7TM/MembrasinTM, a vegetable-based capsule product of SBA 24 sea buckthorn oil, improved the dry mouth conditions of SS patients (2) and reduced the vaginal inflammation of postmenopausal women (3) in pilot studies. These results suggest positive effects of this product on the mucous membranes of female genital tract. The aim of the present study was to test the effects of Omega 7TM/MembrasinTM on the genital mucous membranes of female SS patients. Study design The study was designed as a placebo-controlled, doubleblind, cross-over study. Twenty four female Sjgren`s syndrome patients of age 37-66 took randomly Omega 7TM/MembrasinTM (SBA 24) and fractionated coconut oil capsules (FCO, as a placebo), six capsules (3.0 g oil) per day, each product for three months. Twelve typical symptoms of SS in the mucosa of the eyes, mouth and genital tract and the skin were evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after each of the supplementation periods.

percentage of improved cases

120 100 80 60 40 20 0

% improved after using SBA 24 from %Improved after using placebo from %worsened after using SBA 24 from %worsened after using placebo from

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Figure 4. Improvement in symptoms of Sjgren`s syndrome after the first three months of treatments measured by VAS

Figure 1. Sea buckthorn (Hippopha rhamnoides)

Results and discussion More patients had the condition of the genital mucosa improved by the dietary supplementation of SBA 24 compared with the use of FCO (placebo) (P < 0.01, Figure 3). The improvement was shown as alleviations of itching, burning, pain, liquid secretion (leaking) and dryness of the mucosa. Compared with FCO (placebo), the use of SBA 24 led to a higher percentage of improved cases in all the twelve symptoms followed by the study. At the end of the first supplementation period, the difference between FCO and SBA 24 in the overall effects on Sjgren`s syndrome was statistically significant (P < 0.01, Figure 4). The results suggest beneficial effects of Omega 7TM/MembrasinTM (SBA 24) Sea Buckthorn Oil capsule on the overall condition of the mucous membranes of patients of Sjgrens syndrome.
References 1. Yang B and Erkkola R (2006) The 97th Annual Meeting & Expo of American Oil Chemists Society, April 30 May 3, St Louis, USA. 2. Erkkola R and Yang B (2003) AgroFood industry hi-tech. 3, 53-57 3. Le Bell AM, Sderling E, Rantanen I, Yang B, Kallio H. (2001). The eightieth General Session & Exhibition of International Association for Dental Research (IADR), March 6-9, San Diego, USA

Figure 2. A diagrammatic description of supercritical CO2 extraction

25 20 SBA 24 15 scores 10 5 0 itching -5 burning pain secretion dryness Placebo

Figure 3. Scores describing improvement after the treatments measured by VAS. Scores 1= an improved case, 0 = an unchanged case, -1 = a worsened case

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