Borage Seed Oil
Borage seed oil is also known as starflower oil or borage oil. It is basically extracted from seeds of borage plant. It is mainly found in North America, Europe and Africa and is considered as a good source of polyunsaturated long-chain fatty acid.
Polyunsaturated fats are healthier as compared to saturated fats. Borage seed oil is also considered as a good source of essential fatty acids known as omega 6 and omega 3 fats, which cannot be manufactured by a human body. This fat is also very high in calories and people attempting to lose weight should not make use of it too much.
Ingredients of borage seed oil
Borage seed oil comprises gamma linolenic or GLA acid, which is basically a fatty acid. The human body changes it to a substance that looks like hormones and is known as prostaglandin E1 or PGE1. This element is utilized as an anti-inflammatory and antithrombotic by the body, as it has properties of blood thinning and dilates the vessels.
Borage seed oil is the richest naturally occurring GLA source and comprises nearly 20-26 percent of this kind of fatty acid.
Benefits of borage seed oil
Deficiency of GLA can take place with fatty intake, aging and other problems, but the main reason for deficiency is not yet known. People who are deficient may take borage seed oil to help in removing this deficiency.
Precautions
Borage seed oil should not be consumed by pregnant or nursing woman. People who have had attacks in past like temporal lobe epilepsy should avoid taking this supplement. People who have other kinds of attacks and people are receiving a neuroleptic treatment should also avoid its use.
Its use should be totally stopped sometime prior to a surgery. People who have AIDS should also be careful with this supplement. AIDS leads to weakening of the immune system and Borage seed oil reverses the function of lymphocyte. Such people should abstain from using it.
Usage
Borage seed oil GLA, ranging from 1.4-2.8 grams, is provided to people who have rheumatoid arthritis. For topical use around 0.5 milliliters of GLA is normally applied. People who have eczema are generally given around 360 milligrams of GLA from borage seed oil to aid with the problem.
Side effects
Borage seed oil has some side effects like indigestion, headache and nausea. It also contains small amounts of liver toxin, but no traces of alkaloids have been found. Overall borage seed oil is mostly free from PA.
People making use of borage seed oil supplements continually should go for the products that have been approved by drug associations to be free from any unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids.