* Please Note: This information is based partly on Traditional Medicine which uses natural materials to support health. This information has not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor.
Description
Name
Borago officinalis L. (Boraginceae), commonly called borage, bugloss, and burrage. In French, it is Bourrache officinale; in German, Boretsch Gurkenkraut.
Source
This family of plants came from the Mediterranean region, but borage has been cultivated in European herb gardens for many hundreds of years. Plants are said to have an odor like cucumbers, and probably for that reason, chopped leaves are sometimes added to salads. Oils extracted from borage, as well as oil extracted from evening primrose, black currant, and gooseberry (Ribes uva crispa) contain some of the same fatty acids found in fish oils.
History
One of the traditional uses of the herb had been to promote sweating. The name "borage" is said to derive from the arabic word abu rach, meaning "father of all sweat." The Greeks and Romans believed that borage could cure feelings of melancholy, but since they prepared their borage by soaking it in alcohol, it is hard to say whether it was the borage or the alcohol that improved their spirits. Traditional herbalists use borage as a diuretic. Until recently, claimed medical benefits were not taken very seriously. However, the oil extracted from the seeds, (which were never used by traditionalists) may yet turn out to be a useful food supplement.
Traditional Claims
Borage is used as a demulcent, diuretic, and stimulant.
Commission E Recommendations
Borage is not approved by Commission E, and the German government no longer permits its sale.
Proven Effects
No molecule with diuretic properties has ever been isolated from borage nor, for that matter, is there any reason to suppose borage causes sweating. But the seeds do contain large amounts (25 percent or more) of a fatty acid called gammalinolenic acid (GLA). This same product is found in fish oil and in evening primrose, the fruits of black currants, and in gooseberry. GLA plays a key role in human metabolism. Humans make GLA from another fatty acid called linoleic acid (LA), and in turn use GLA to produce components of the skin, blood cells, and a family of compounds involved in the inflammatory process (prostoglandins and leucotrienes) and in blood clotting.
Even though the body converts LA to GLA, just adding supplemental LA to the diet does not lead to increased levels of GLA in the body, and does absolutely nothing to increase levels of the important compounds made from GLA. But when GLA is added to the diet, levels of hormones made from GLA do increase. Based on these observations, GLA has been added to the diet of severely injured animals. Compared to animals that did not receive GLA, treated animals had higher levels of anti-inflammatory hormones and a higher rate of survival. Addition of GLA to the diet, but not LA, also prevented the activation of T lymphocytes, the type of white blood cells that is thought to be responsible for much of the pain and swelling in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These effects are under active investigation at several major surgical centers.
Even more exciting are studies on using GLA to alter stress responses. It has been known for quite some time that exaggerated and inappropriate responses to stressful situations play a role in causing heart disease and high blood pressure. The traditional ways of fighting stress - exercise, relaxation and stress management training - do not always work. But, in one clinical study, men who were treated with borage oil responded better to experimental stress (their hearts did not beat as rapidly and their blood pressure did not go as high) as men treated with fish oil, olive oil, or controls (study participants who were given a placebo). The results suggest that GLA does something to counter the effects of stress hormones.
On the minus side, borage also contains very small amounts of a potentially dangerous alkaloid called pyrrolizidine. Much larger amounts of this same compound are to be found in the herb commonly known as comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Based on animal studies, it seems that pyrrolizidine itself is not toxic, but that once it gets into the body, the liver converts pyrrolizidine into compounds that may damage the lungs (primary pulmonary hypertension) and damage DNA. Damage to DNA translates into an increased risk for cancer.
Except for the oil extracted from the seeds, no one seriously claims any medicinal benefits for borage. But the GLA content of the oil is much higher than that of the evening primrose, and a number of conditions have been successfully treated with the latter. These include eczema, rheumatoid arthritis and premenstrual tension.
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Directions
Stir 1/4 of a teaspoon into a glass of water and consume 3 times daily, with meals.
Cautions
Concerns
High doses (24 grams/day) can increase the tendency of blood to clot spontaneously, but low doses normally recommended by traditional herbalists (3 grams/day) do not. The main worry is the pyrrolizidine content. Compared to other herbs, like comfrey, borage contains very little of this toxin (and apparently none in the flowers or fresh leaves), but there is some evidence that the toxin content of dried borage leaves increases with aging. The German government no longer permits the sale of borage.
Absorption is another problem. Variable amounts of GLAs are also found in black currant oil, evening primrose oil, and in the oils produced by some fungi. In animal studies comparing the effectiveness of treatment with the different GLA-containing oils, improvement could not be predicted based on GLA content alone. In experimental studies of diabetic nerve damage, improvement was seen with all the different oils, but the greatest improvement was seen after treatment with evening primrose. The different responses are explained by the fact that there are substances in all four oils that could affect GLA absorption. The message for consumers is that no matter what the label says, a high GLA content does not guarantee a greater effect or improved result. For GLA supplementation, evening primrose may be a better product than borage.
Warning
Except in certain specific disease states, there is no evidence that the body will benefit from increased GLA intake, and there is even some concern that too much GLA could dangerously increase the tendency of blood to clot. Too great an intake could also lead to increased exposure to cancer-causing toxins known to be present in the plant.
Drug Testing
Neither the plant, nor the oil extracted from the seeds, contain any compound known to interfere with workplace drug testing.
Additional Information
The TerraVita Premium Collection uses only the finest, purest and most potent plant extracts from around the world.
The TerraVita Premium Collection is hallmarked by the highest possible standards of purity, potency, stability and freshness. Our highest possible standards are certified by independent laboratories and backed by our personal guarantee.
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Products are intended to support general well being and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure any condition or disease. If conditions persist, please seek advice from your medical doctor. The essence of the current American rule on Traditional Uses is, as stated by FTC, "Claims based on historical or traditional use should be substantiated by confirming scientific evidence, or should be presented in such a way that consumers understand that the sole basis for the claim is a history of use of the product for a particular purpose."
