Extraction and Physico-chemical properties of Seabuckthorn oil from cold deserts of
Himalaya
T. Parimelazhagan* and Zakwan Ahmed
Division of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants , Field Research Laboratory
Defence Research & Development Organization, C/o 56 APO - India
Abstract
Seabuckthorn oil is one of the imperative product obtained from the seabuckthorn seed and
pulp is now commercially very important. Ladakh is unique in many respects for its geo
climatic conditions, like high altitude, extremely cold and dry weather. The plants are known
to respond to such extremes by synthesizing phytochemicals to fight the adversities for their
survival and therefore plants surviving in Ladakh may have unique chemical composition as
compared to those grown elsewhere. The physico-chemical parameters of the oil are also a
major factor in effectiveness. Physico chemical components of Seabuckthorn oil of different
origin is lacking. No compositional data of oil of Hippophae rhamnoides from Ladakh region
has been reported. Therefore, the present study has taken up to analyze the physico-chemical
parameters because of their nutritional importance. The observations indicated that the
recovery of the Seabuckthorn oil from this region is high. Results revealed that pulp (without
juice extracted) comprised the highest level of oil 22 percent compared to that of pulp (juice
extracted). Seed contained 10 percent of oil. The maximum oil recovery was observed in the
n-Hexane extraction. The total content of carotenoids and Vitamin E in the seed and pulp oil
were estimated. The results indicate that the oils from the seed and pulp have identical quality
except in Carotenoids and Vitamin E (tocopherol) content. The excellent combination of the
highest content of carotenoids and Vitamin E makes valuable oil in the commercial market.
Results of these studies will be discussed.
1. Introduction
Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) is a thorny bush flourishing where other
plants perish. It produces berries which have long been recognized to be rich in valuable
health
Corresponding author:Telefax: +91- 01982-252096 , E-mail address
:drparimel@movemail.com
promoting compounds. Seabuckthorn plants naturally growing in Ladakh regions of Jammu
and Kashmir are known as tasru – wonder plant. Seabuckthorn fruits are rich in
carbohydrates, protein, organic acids, amino acids and vitamins (Alam Zeb, 2004). In recent
years, seabuckthorn has become an important raw material of health products and cosmetics,
especially in China and Russia. This exploitation is based on more than one thousand years
application in Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese traditional medicines (Xu et al., 1994). In
Himalayan belts this plant is abundantly growing wild. Not much attention has been paid to
this plant except for creation of awareness by the scientists of Field Research Laboratory
(DRDO), Leh. Seabuckthorn is known as an unique source of high valued oils. The oil of
seabuckthorn has general nourishing, revitalizing, and restorative action. It can be used for
acne, dermatitis, irritated, dry, itching skin, sore skin, skin ulcers, burns, scalds, cuts and
tissue regeneration. Seabuckthorn oil effectively combats wrinkles, dryness and other
symptoms of malnourished or prematurely aging skin and is utilized in anti aging skin creams
and lotions (Lanev et al., 1995; Zhou Yuanpeng, 1998; Xing, 2002). All these beneficial
compounds are derived from the berry of the seabuckthorn bush, which originally grew in the
harsh climate of the Himalayan Mountains but has now spread all over the world.
Ladakh is unique in many respects for its geo-climatic conditions, like high elevation,
extremely cold and dry weather, are extremes by any standard. The plants are known to
respond to such extremes by synthesizing phytochemicals to fight the adversities for their
survival and therefore plants surviving in Ladakh may have unique chemical composition as
compared to those grown elsewhere. The physico-chemical parameters of the oil are also a
major factor in effectiveness. Physico chemical components of Seabuckthorn oil of different
origin is lacking. No compositional data of oil of Hippophae rhamnoides from Ladakh region
has been reported. Therefore, the present study has taken up to analyze the physico-chemical
parameters because of their nutritional importance.
2. Methods
2.1 Materials
Berries of Hippophae rhamnoides were collected from four different locations of Ladakh
region and stored at -200C. Seeds were separated from frozen berries by pressing the juice and
residues were dried at room temperature and seeds were separated. After separating the seeds,
the pulp portion were also dried (Pomace) and used for oil extraction.
2.2 Extraction of oil
Samples (500g) of dried seed and pulp (powdered form) were taken into the soxhlet
apparatus. A piece of cotton is placed at the top and bottom of the apparatus to evenly
distribute the solvent as it drops on the sample during extraction.
Extraction was carried out with n-Hexane and Petroleum ether separately for 6 hours without
interruption by heating around 60 to 700C. After the extraction over, solvent was evaporated
on the Buchi –Rotavapor until no odour of solvent remains and finally oil was collected in a
separate beaker for further analysis.
2.3 Physico-chemical characteristics of oil
Physico-chemical properties were analyzed according to standard methods (AOCS, 1995).
Carotenoids were determined by the method of Mironov (1989). Statistical analysis of the
results was carried out and expressed as mean + SE.
3. Results and discussion
The oil present in the Seabuckthorn berries has been the focus of investigation and product
development for quite sometime. One of the many special features of Seabuckthorn is the
exceptionally high oil content in the fruit pulp as well as seed (Parimelazhagan et al., 2005).
The oil content of seeds and pulps are showed in Fig. 1. It is observed that pulp (without juice
extract) comprised the highest level of oil 22 percent compared to that of pulp (juice
extracted). Seed contained 10 percent of oil. In this experiment, n-Hexane and Petroleum
ether were used for oil extraction and results revealed that the average recovery of the oil
content is highest in n-Hexane extraction when compared to Petroleum ether (Fig. 1). The
results also clearly indicate that the recovery of the Seabuckthorn oil from this region is high
when compared to previous studies (Alam Zeb, 2004; Kallio et al., 2002). It has been
suggested that the n-Hexane solvent can be espouse for Seabuckthorn oil extraction.
Seabuckthorn seed oil is an excellent source of essential fatty acids, making up
approximately 70 percent of its composition. It is used for application of cell anti-ageing,
enhancement of microcirculation, antioxidant protection, epidermal regeneration, antiinflammation, natural UV blocking and sun screen cosmetics. Seabuckthorn oil is traditionally
used in the treatment of gastric ulcers, and laboratory studies confirm the efficacy of the seed
oil for this application (Zhou Yuanpeng, 1998; Xing, 2002).
Seabuckthorn seed and pulp oils were analysed for different characteristics and are
shown in Table 1. The results indicate that the oils from the seed and pulp have identical
quality except in Carotenoids and Vitamin E (tocopherol) content. In the present study, it was
observed that among the seed and pulp oil assayed for their Vitamin E content, the seed oil
exhibited high content than the pulp oil. The most important phytonutrients of health
significance are tocopherols, present in the Seabuckthorn oil in exceptionally high
concentration, that also are subject to significant variation due to geo climatic conditions.
Refractive Index and optical rotation are very stable parameters and should be used for
checking the identity of oils. In this experiment, Acid and peroxidase values of both the oils
were estimated (Table 1) and results revealed that values are reasonable according to quality
parameters.
These two parameters can be helpful to ensure quality of products. Our results agree with
data from other sources of literature (Lu, 1993; Mironov, 1989; Zhang, 1989; Bernath and
Foldesi, 1992). However, a thorough investigation must be focused on selection of sub
species, agro climatic conditions, harvesting time to obtain maximum yield of Seabuckthorn
oil and higher level of phytonutrients.
4. Conclusion
Seabuckthorn grown wild in Ladakh under the waste and degraded land conditions. It is well
known that plants under stress respond with biosynthesis of phytochemicals to enable them to
adapt to the environment. As regards to Seabuckthorn, very limited phytochemical work has
been reported from India. The FRL of DRDO in Leh has initiated a research work to develop
products from Seabuckthorn oil for the people surviving in diverse climatic conditions. Since
seabuckthorn has been used since ancient times in common medicines for curing many
diseases affecting humans and other animals, the commercialization of seabuckthorn based
nutritious products would be a great achievement in alternative nutritional diet sources.
References
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Institute of medicinal plants Resource Development. The Chinese Academy of Medical
Sciences, Beijing
Perc
enta
ge of
30
25
oil
20
15
10
5
0
Seed
Pulp (Juice extracted)
Pulp (Without juice
extracted)
n-Hexane Petroleum ether
Fig. 1. Percentage of oil extracted from Seabuckthorn seed and
pulp
Table 1 Physico-chemical properties of Seabuckthorn oil
Parameters
Pulp oil
Seed oil
Refractive Index
1.46 + 0.002
1.41 + 0.017
Optical rotation
2.10 + 0.05
2.14 + 0.065
Acid value
8.80 + 0.14
10.0 + 0.235
Peroxidase value (meq O2 / kg)
1.36 + 0.02
1.42 + 0.038
Carotenoids (mg/ 100g)
228.1+ 2.5
47.15 + 2.38
Vitamin E (mg/ 100g)
All the values are mean + SE
146.2 + 1.5
185.5 + 1.21