Educational information, not medical advice — ask your doctor or midwife.
Sea buckthorn is a thorny shrub with bright orange berries. It grows on coasts, dunes and riverbanks across northern Europe and Asia. The berries, the seeds and the oils pressed from them are used as food and as supplements.
In the Nordic countries it is called tindved, havtorn and tyrni. The raw berry is very sour and high in vitamin C. People have long turned it into juice, jam and skin oil.
Here is the short evidence verdict. Human trials exist, but most are small, and the results are mixed. The clearest signals are modest help for dry eye and for dry skin.
Traditional use is not proof that a remedy works. It is also not proof that it is safe. Read the rest of this page with that in mind.
Most claims rest on the berry's vitamin C and on the fatty acids in its oils. How much those do inside the body is still unsettled.
The berry is a genuine source of vitamin C. Vitamin C prevents and treats scurvy, and that is well established in people.
In cell and animal studies, sea buckthorn oil appears to lower some markers of inflammation. In animals it seems to speed skin repair. Whether the same happens in people is not established.
One idea is that the oil supports the thin, moist linings of the eye, gut and genital tract. Small human trials hint at a mild effect on dryness. The effect, where it shows up at all, is small.
The orange pigments (carotenoids) act as antioxidants in test tubes. Antioxidants are compounds that mop up reactive molecules. A test-tube result does not tell you what happens after you swallow it.
Sea buckthorn is sold both as an ordinary food and as a supplement.
- Juice and juice blends, usually sweetened, since the berry is sharp. - Jam, syrup, purée and frozen berries. - Dried berry powder for drinks and baking.
- Pulp oil and seed oil, in bottles or in capsules. - Creams, balms, lip products and face oils. - Capsules sold for dry eye or dry skin.
Oil capsules are the form used in most human trials. Foods such as juice and jam are eaten as food, not dosed as medicine.
Skin products are for the skin only. Do not swallow a cream or a cosmetic face oil.
Coastal families in Norway, Sweden and Finland gathered the berries for food. The shrub copes with salt, wind and poor sand, so it grew where little else would.
The sour juice became drinks, jams and syrups. It was prized through long winters, when fresh fruit was scarce. It was eaten as a routine food rather than a rare cure.
Folk practice also used the oil on burns, chafed skin and slow-healing sores. Similar uses are recorded in Tibetan, Mongolian and Russian tradition.
In the 20th century, Soviet and Nordic growers farmed it for oil and juice. Finnish research groups later ran the first modern human trials.
Stop and get emergency help for swelling of the lips, face or throat, a spreading rash, or trouble breathing. These can be signs of a serious allergy.
Stop and see your doctor if you notice easy bruising, nosebleeds or bleeding that will not stop.
See your doctor if eye dryness, skin problems or vaginal dryness last more than a few weeks. Those symptoms can have causes that need proper treatment.
In the EU, the UK and the US, sea buckthorn is an ordinary food. Capsules and oils are sold as food supplements or dietary supplements, not as medicines, so no medical claims are approved for them.
Evidence grades and traditional-use labels are explained in our methodology. Nothing here is medical advice.
Reviewed by the HealisticMD editorial team How we grade evidence →
What it is typically used for, usual dose, cautions, and the study behind it where real trial data exists.
One email with the summary. We'll also send a short weekly evidence update — unsubscribe any time.
