Evening Primrose Oil- Medicinal Uses, Interactions, Side Effects, Dosage
Evening Primrose Oil
Evening primrose is a member of the fuchsia and willow herb family. The common name of the plant is derived from the flower, which opens and releases its scent during the evening. The seeds contain oils that are used therapeutically.
Uses and Benefits:
Evening primrose oil (EPO), along with borage and black currant oils, are rich sources of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). These plant oils are used for premenstrual syndrome and associated breast pain, eczema, and arthritis. EPO has also been recommended for diabetic peripheral neuropathy, chronic fatigue syndrome, hyperlipidemia, inflammatory bowel disease, schizophrenia, menopausal hot flushes, and many other ailments.Patients with these disorders are thought to be unable to sufficiently convert their dietary essential fatty acids to GLA, a precursor of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids ; thus, supplementation with GLA-rich plant oils is considered beneficial.
Pharmacology:
The key constituents of the seeds are fixed oils containing essential omega-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid (LA), and especially its derivative gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). EPO contains 7-10% GLA, while borage seed oil contains 23%, and black currant oil contains 15-20%.
The metabolic pathway of GLA is well established in humans and other animals. Dietary linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid, is converted to GLA by a rate-limiting enzymatic step. GLA is then rapidly converted to dihomo-gammalinolenic acid (DGLA), which
GLA supplementation has been shown to attenuate the in vitro response by enriching cells with DGLA, the immediate prcursor of PGE1, without increasing corresponding amounts of AA. DGLA or another metabolite, 15-hydroxy-DGLA, appear to inhibit the AA pathway to its inflammatory byproducts, further in inflammation, and have direct immune modulating effects onT -lymphocytes. A variety of anti-inflammatory effects from GLA supplementation have been demonstrated.
Based on an increase in anti-inflammatory eicosanoids that ,effect platelet function, GLA should be expected to reduce latelet aggregation. Controlled studies in humans have reported varying results, however, with most studies reporting an increase or no change in aggregation. 1 Bleeding time data has not been evalluated.
Clinical Trials:
Numerous clinical trials have evaluated the use of EPO. Problems with several studies include inadequate conlrols (some used olive oil or other potentially active substances as the placebo) and trials that did not run long enough (based on some studies, it may take many months to ameliorate disease).
Atopic Dermatitis/Eczema-Dozens of trials have evaluated EPO for the treatment of eczema and related skin disorders. 2 ,1,g An early meta-analysis of nine mostly small trials that were ran
Related Tags: side effects, evening primrose oil, dosage, interactions, medicinal uses, clinical trials
Steve Mathew is a writer, who writes many great articles on herbal medicines for common ailments and diseases. For more information on herbal remedies and home remedies visit our site on health care.
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