| Evening primrose oil | |||||
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- What is evening primrose oil?
- Important evening primrose oil facts
- Why evening primrose oil is important
What is evening primrose oil ?
Evening primrose is a flowering plant that is native in the wild in Europe and North America, whose yellow flowers only open up at dusk. The whole plant, including the flowers are used for medical purposes.
The most potent and active part of the plant is the oil in the seeds of the flowers, which contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).
Important evening primrose oil facts
- The GLA in evening primrose oil is an omega-6 fatty acid
- GLA is an important part of cell membranes
- A deficiency of GLA can be a factor that contributes to eczema
- Some women with PMS benefit from supplementation of evening primrose oil
- GLA has an anti-inflammatory effect, which is why some people with rheumatoid arthrtis benefit from it
Why evening primrose oil is important
The GLA in evening primrose oil, when converted into prostaglandins acts as an anti-inflammatory.
GLA is also found in mother's milk, some types of fish and spirulina. It is also found in borage seed oil and black currant seed oil, which actually have higher levels of GLA than evening primrose oil.
references
- Osiecki, Henry, The Nutrient Bible 2002, BioConcepts Publishing
- Osiecki, Henry. The Physician's Handbook of Clinical Nutrition. 6th edition, 2001, BioConcepts Publishing
- Rolfes SR, Pinna K, Whitney E. Understanding Normal and Clinical Nutrition. 7th Edition, 2005. Brooks Cole Publishing
- Tortora GJ, Derrickson BH. Principles of Anatomy & Physiology. 11th edition, 2005. Wiley Publishing
To learn more, go to the following web sites:
- Food Standards Australia and New Zealand
- Dieticians Association of Australia
- Nutrient Reference Values (Australia)
