Borage Seed Oil | www.borageseedoil.co.uk

borage plant from which borage oil or starflower oil is extracted

Borage Seed Oil or Starflower Oil

Borage or Starflower (Borago officinalis) is an annual plant native to Europe and North Africa, grown for its seeds from which is extracted borage seed oil or starflower oil.

Borage is cultivated in many countries for its medicinal oil, rich in tannic, palmetic and oleic acids.

However, the main medicinal use comes from the high levels in borage seed oil of two sorts of polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids:

1. Linolenic acid (known as LA) which is converted in the body to GLA below.

2. Gamma-linolenic acid or GLA which exists in concentrations of about twenty to twenty six percent.

Borage oil or Starflower oil is available over the counter in the UK in the form of capsules and of bottled oil. The dose of borage oil in capsules vary from 500mg to 1300mg and of that 23% is gamma-linolenic acid.

Some borage oil compounds contain low levels of agents toxic to the liver but it is possible to buy products without these ingredients. While the safety of borage seed oil has not been directly investigated in arthritic patients but other studies with oils rich in GLA have shown a good safety profile with no serious adverse reactions or complications.