NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF SEA BUCKTHORN BERRY

Like all sour fruits, Sea buckthorn contain vitamin C. However, just notice the Vitamin C content in this “Wonder Berry”. To put some facts into place, average adult requires about 65 mg of Vitamin C daily. Raw Oranges juice provides about 50 mg,Raw Kiwi provides 95 mg, Raw Guava contains 228 mg of Vitamin C per 100 grams. Some of the foods highest in vitamin C are listed on Self- Nutrition Data portal. Vitamin C content in Sea Buckthorn berry is around 400-1500 mg per 100 grams.

Similarly Sea buckthorn is rich in Vitamin E or Tocopherols. It contains 120-180 mg of Vitamin E per 100 g of berries. In the list of foods highest on Self- Nutrition Data portal, probably Sea buckborn would come first. Nearest is Wheat gram oil which contains around 150 mg Vitamin E per 100 gram.

Similarly, Sea buckthorn is rich in Vitamin K. It contains Vitamin A in form of carotene, lycopene, zeaxanthine. These fat soluble vitamins – A, E and K get concentrated in sea buckthorn oil. A study found that per 100 gram of various oil (seed oil, pulp oil, fruit residue oil) contains Vitamin E in range of 170-600 mg, Vitamin K in range of 50-230 mg and Caratenoids in range of 30-1800 mg, making Sea Buckthorn oil as amazing source of fat soluble vitamins (except Vitamin D). Vitamin Content of Sea buckthorn also includes Vitamin B1, B2 and B6.

Mineral content of Sea buckthorn include minerals like zinc, selenium, manganese and iron.

Sea buckthorn contains various fatty acids mainly Omega 9 fatty acids (oleic acid), Omega 6 fatty acids (palmitic acid and linoleic acid) and Omega 3 fatty acids (linolenic acid).  Most importantly it is one of the highest natural sources of Omega 7 fatty acids (palmitoleic acid), nearly one third of total fatty acids in sea buckthorn. Amount of fatty acid may vary depending on species and geography, however fruit pulp contains about 3-5% of fatty acids while seed has concentrated form of lipids to around 8-20%. Health benefits of sea buckthorn oil can be very much attributed to these Omega 7 fatty acids.

Sea buckthorn contains flavonoids about 0.1-1% by weight, including – Quercetin, Oligomeric Proanthocyanidins, Isorhamnetin Kaempfermol, Catechins & Proanthocyanidins, which have amazing antioxidant properties. It also contains high amount of natural plant sterols like beta-sitosterol, and erithrodiol, which exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Amino acids and proteins in Sea buckthorn account to 2-3% by weight, while concentrated in seeds – 18-33% which also makes sea buckthorn meal good animal fodder.