Hippophae rhamnoides, the common sea-buckthorn, is a deciduous shrub species in the genus Hippophae.

Common Sea-buckthorn branches are dense, stiff, and very thorny. The leaves are a distinct pale silvery-green, lanceolate, 3-8 cm long and less than 7 mm broad. It is dioecious

Dioecious

Dioecy is the property of a group of biological organisms that have males and females, but not members that have organs of both sexes at the same time. I.e., those whose individual members can usually produce only one type of gamete; each individual organism is thus distinctly female or male...

, with male and female flowers on separate plants. The brownish male flowers produce wind-distributed pollen. It is a non-legume nitrogen fixer. The fruits are a bright orange.

Habitat

Usually found near the coast forming thickets on fixed dunes and sea cliffs.

Range

Hippophae rhamnoides is a native plant throughout Europe, including Britain, from Norway south and east to Spain and Asia to Japan and the Himalayas. It is grown as an agricultural plant in Germany, France, India and China. China is the largest agricultural producer. The origin of the plant is Nepal and it migrated to other parts of Eurasia after the last ice age.

Use

The fruits of sea buckthorn are used in a wide variety of products. Due to difficult harvest conditions and long ramp-up time of 6 to 8 years buckthorn is a relatively expensive raw material.

Food

Especially in Germany and France sea buckthorn is commonly sold as fruit juice or as an ingredient in non-alcoholic and alcoholic mixed beverages. Other uses include the berries to be processed as fruit wine or into liquor as well as jam. Buckthorn tea is also made out of the fruits and originates from India.

The fruits have a very high vitamin C

Vitamin C

Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...

 content, on average exceeding the vitamin C content of lemons and oranges.

Medicinal uses

Various pharmacological activities such as cytoprotective, anti-stress, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, radioprotective, anti-atherogenic, anti-tumor, anti-microbial and tissue regeneration have been reported.

A high-quality medical oil is produced from the fruit of sea buckthorn that is used in the treatment of cardiac disorders. Russian cosmonauts have used its oil for protection against radiation burns in space.

Agricultural engineering

Buckthorn is resistant to wind and frost, tolerates salty soils and has a wide-reaching root system. It is often used to stabilize sandy locations and as a pioneering plant on regosol.

See also

• Sea buckthorn oil
  Sea buckthorn oil
  Sea-buckthorn identifies a group of species in the genus Hippophae, the most commonly used of which is Hippophae rhamnoides. Oil can be extracted from either the seeds or the pulp of the fruit.-Chemical constituents:...
  
  
• Wolfberry
  Wolfberry
  Wolfberry, commercially called goji berry, is the common name for the fruit of two very closely related species: Lycium barbarum and L. chinense , two species of boxthorn in the family Solanaceae...
  
  , another medicinal plant that is often mistaken for Sea-buckthorn
• Hippophae