What is Borage Oil?

Borage oil came into the spotlight as a cure-all in the early 1990's as public interest in alternative remedies grew. Praised as a remedy for everything from wrinkles to hangovers to PMS, borage oil has been the subject of numerous clinical trials to investigate its usefulness. Borage oil is commonly recommended by herbalists and practitioners of natural medicine to treat a variety of ailments.

History

• Products made from the wild-growing borage plant have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Greek and Celtic physicians used borage to lift the spirits and imbue courage. The name borage actually means "a person of courage" and the English once used it to flavor wine for soldiers. Not until the late 1980's did the oil from the borage seed begin being used for its potential medicinal properties.

Function

• The oil made from the borage plant seed is widely available as a supplement. Typically provided in capsule form a borage oil supplement may be labeled as "starflower oil" or "borage oil." Practitioners of alternative medicine recommend borage oil for the relief of inflammation, menopause and skin conditions. The effectiveness of borage oil to treat these conditions has not been determined.

Features

• Borage oil contains a compound thought to be useful in the treatment of a variety of diseases. This compound, an omega-6 fatty acid called gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is found in a high concentration in borage oil, up to 30 percent. The proper amount of omega-6 fatty acids required by the body has not been determined; however omega-6 fatty acids are known to be precursors to a number of compounds in the body.

Benefits

• The benefits of borage oil have been demonstrated in some clinical studies, although the use of borage oil to treat illness has not been widely accepted in the traditional medical community. Most notably borage oil has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties and therefore may be useful in the treatment of conditions such as arthritis, eczema and heart disease. Borage oil has also shown some success in the regulation of female hormones.

Considerations

• The Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of borage oil for medicinal purposes. The dosage considered therapeutic, between 100 and 300 mg per day, can sometimes cause side effects. The most common side effects of borage oil supplements are nausea, digestive difficulties, bloating, fatigue and headache.

Warning

• Borage oil preparations contain small amounts of chemicals called alkaloids which can be toxic to the liver. In order to prevent liver damage a borage supplement should only be consumed if it is certified to be free of alkaloids. Borage oil interacts with a number of medications including tranquilizers, blood thinners and anti-seizure medications. Because of these potential interactions a physician should be consulted prior to taking borage supplements.