Primrose Oil Where To Buy
Omega-6 fatty acids that have GLA, like evening primrose oil, are thought to help lower inflammation and improve the appearance of your skin. This is because when you ingest a beneficial omega-6 fatty acid like evening primrose oil that contains GLA, your body turns it into dihomo-γ-linolenic acid (DGLA). DGLA is the mechanism that can help lower inflammation in your body and potentially improve your skin barrier.
primrose oil where to buy
Over the past few years, interest in evening primrose oil has risen due to its supposed benefit of reducing itching, dry skin and irritation in people with eczema. And while interest may be currently rising in Western culture, the use of evening primrose oil finds its roots in early Native American societies. Evening primrose oil comes in two forms, either a capsule or liquid, and while most people take it by mouth some do apply it topically to affected areas of the skin. Though not as common as some of its fellow omega-6 oils, evening primrose oil is an attractive solution for people with eczema, especially for those looking to augment treatment as an alternative or addition to over-the-counter topical moisturizers. Whether it lives up to expectations, however, is another story.
Medical professionals do recommend avoiding evening primrose oil if you are pregnant or have a diagnosed bleeding disorder or epilepsy. There are some reports that evening primrose oil can interact with blood thinner medication. Some people also report nausea and an upset stomach after taking evening primrose oil.
Organic evening primrose oil is prized for its abundant food, health, and cosmetic benefits. Evening primrose is a common wildflower found in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. The yellow flowers only open in the evening, hence their common name. Evening primrose has been used throughout in Europe since the seventeenth century.
This particular oil should be kept refrigerated to help prolong shelf life. Because of its many health benefits, evening primrose seed oil is truly a wonderful food additive. It may be taken alone, or can be drizzled on top of salads or other prepared meals. For cosmetic use, evening primrose oil should be added after any preparation steps that require heat. Refrigeration is recommended after opening.
Khorshidi M,Zareaadha M, Moghaddam O, et al. Effect of evening primrose oil supplementation on lipid profile: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Phytother Res. 2020;34(10):2628-2638. doi:10.1002/ptr.6716
Evening primrose is a wildflower that grows throughout the United States. Although Native Americans used the seeds for food and made poultices from the whole plant to heal bruises, evening primrose oil (EPO) has only recently been used as medicine. European settlers took the root back to England and Germany where it was eaten as food.
A circle of leaves grows close to the ground around evening primrose stems after the first year it is planted. Flowers bloom after sunset, June through September, or on overcast days during the second year. The leaves grow on both sides of the stem at alternating levels.
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is a nerve condition where people with diabetes have numbness, tingling, pain, burning, or a lack of sensation in their feet and legs. Two studies have found that GLA may help reduce symptoms of diabetic neuropathy.
Montserrat-de la Paz S, Garcia-Gimenez MD, Angel-Martin M, Perez-Camino MC, Fernandez arche A. Long-chain fatty alcohols from evening primrose oil inhibit the inflammatory respoonse in murine peritoneal macrophages. J Ethnopharmacol. 2014;151(1):131-6.
Morse NL, Clough PM. A meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials of Efamol evening primrose oil in atopic eczema. Where do we go from here in light of more recent discoveries? Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2006;7(6):503-24.
Pruthi S, Wahner-Roedler DL, Torkelson CJ, Cha SS, Thicke LS, Hazelton JH, Bauer BA. Vitamin E and evening primrose oil for management of cyclical mastalgia: a randomized pilot study. Altern Med Rev. 2010 Apr;15(1):59-67.
Yoon S, Lee J, Lee S. The therapeutic effect of evening primrose oil in atopic dermatitis patients with dry scaly skin lesions is associated with the normalization of serum gamma-interferon levels. Skin Pharmacol Appl Skin Physiol. 2002;15(1):20-5.
Evening primrose oil, extracted from the seeds of the evening primrose, is rich in the omega-6 fatty acids linoleic acid and gamma-linoleic acid, or GLA, the substances that are thought to give evening primrose oil tablets their potential benefits.
Why not try out this wonderful natural remedy for yourself by taking a look at our current range of evening primrose oil tablets and capsules? Shop options in a 500mg, 1000mg and 1500mg to suit your needs, as well as vegetarian friendly evening primrose oil supplements.
Works well with: Evening primrose oil works well with other plant-based oils, as well as in oil formulations that contain potentially irritating ingredients such as retinol, says Koestline.
In one small randomized trial published in Diabetic Medicine, for example, there was a statistically significant improvement in neuropathy scores, including nerve conduction tests, for people taking evening primrose oil capsules for 6 months compared with placebo.
Eczema can be effectively treated with conventional medicines, but complementary alternatives, such as evening primrose oil are sometimes tried by people whose conditions do not improve as much as they would like, or who fear side effects.
However, a well-respected review of the evidence, conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration, concludes that evening primrose oil is no more effective than placebo at treating eczema, and can produce mild, temporary, mainly gastrointestinal side-effects.
In Britain, evening primrose oil used to be approved for treating eczema and breast pain. However, in 2002, the drug regulator concluded there was not enough evidence of the effectiveness of evening primrose for these uses.
People with epilepsy or other seizure disorder should avoid taking evening primrose oil as it may increase the chances of having a seizure. Also, people with schizophrenia treated with certain drugs may be at risk of seizure, so medical advice should be sought.
Derived from the plant Oenothera biennis, evening primrose oil is used for rheumatoid arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, eczema, fatigue, diabetic neuropathy, and mastalgia. The mucilaginous stem and leaf juices have been used as a poultice to treat minor bruises and wounds, and soothe skin inflammation (25). Evening primrose oil is thought to improve skin moisture and reduce transepidermal water loss (26). It is also among the popular natural products used to relieve menopausal symptoms (27) (28). In vitro, evening primrose oil demonstrates anti-inflammatory activity (29) and inhibits platelet aggregation (6) (7). In animal models, it exerts anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-arthritic effects (30), and improved cardiac recovery after myocardial infarction (31).
Human studies on whether evening primrose oil is helpful for skin conditions are limited and mixed. Small trials suggest benefit in atopic dermatitis (18) (25) (32), but other analyses did not find evening primrose oil or borage oil effective for eczema (23) (33). In acne patients treated with oral isotretinoin, evening primrose oil may improve xerotic cheilitis (34). It may also reduce 5-azacitidine-induced skin reactions in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (19). Other preliminary data suggest benefit in some lipid profiles (53) (56), rheumatoid arthritis symptoms (21), ulcerative colitis (35) (36), or for ocular surface diseases such as dry eye (37) (38), but early studies in diabetic neuropathy were equivocal (39). More recently, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) derived from evening primrose oil was found noninferior to alpha-lipoic acid for reducing pain in patients with diabetic neuropathy (57). In multiple sclerosis patients, evening primrose oil may improve fatigue and quality of life (54), and along with hemp seed and a diet high in antioxidants, it may improve clinical and immunological parameters (40) (41) (42).
Additional data indicate that supplementation with vitamin E and evening primrose oil reduced cyclical mastalgia (20), but other analyses did not find improvements in breast pain (1) (43) or premenstrual syndrome (22). Evening primrose oil may improve quality of life and decrease hot flash intensity in menopausal women (44), although other data suggest that behavioral/lifestyle approaches such as exercise provide better relief (28). In postmenopausal women, it improved related psychological symptoms (55), but more study is needed to confirm these effects.
Studies in cancer patients are quite limited, with one trial involving liver cancer patients that showed no effect on tumor size or survival (45), and another that suggested GLA may be an effective adjunctive therapy for breast cancer (4). Although evening primrose oil does not have intrinsic estrogenic properties, some commercial products combine evening primrose oil with phytoestrogens. Therefore, patients with hormone-sensitive cancers should use evening primrose oil products with caution.
Evening primrose oil is rich in the omega-6 fatty acid GLA, which can be converted directly to the prostaglandin precursor dihomo-GLA (DGLA) (2) (3). Administration of the oil may benefit individuals unable to metabolize cis-linolenic acid to GLA, producing subsequent intermediates of metabolic significance including prostaglandins (2) (3).
In vitro, long-chain fatty alcohols such as hexacosanol, tetracosanol, docosanol, and octocosanol demontrated anti-inflammatory activity (29). In animal models, benefits on cardiac recovery after myocardial infarction were attributed to its hypocholesterolemic effect and indirect influence on prostaglandins and cytokine synthesis (31). In arthiritis models, evening primrose oil normalized body weight, angiopoietin-1, and TNF-alpha levels, and reduced malondialdehyde levels, synovial hyperplasia, and inflammatory cell invasion in joint tissues (30). 041b061a72