Sea Buckthorn: A Superfood Revolutionizing Sustainable Agriculture and Health Products
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for targeted strategies to promote health, focusing on strengthening the immune system and preventing non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
These include strategies dealing with access to food, ensuring that foods are safe, convenient, and nutrient-dense to enhance immune function, and adopting healthy dietary patterns that might help manage the increasing NCD burden globally. These diseases not only impose significant social and economic costs but are also recognized as major risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. While diet is well-known for its role in maintaining overall health, its potential in preventing NCDs is increasingly being recognized, making it a cornerstone of post-pandemic health strategies. In recent years, superfoods have gained popularity as a health trend due to their high content of essential nutrients, antioxidants, and bioactive compounds. They are an efficient and natural way to fill nutrient gaps, enhance immune resilience, and support the prevention of NCDs in a sustainable and accessible way.
Nutritional Value and Health Benefits of Sea Buckthorn
Sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) has been known and used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Although sea buckthorn berries are small, orange berries are celebrated for their rich nutritional profile. This includes vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and B-complex, omega fatty acids, and a host of antioxidants.
Source: El-Sohaimy et al 2022
Notably, it contains vitamin C in concentrations 4 to 100 times higher than any other vegetable or fruit. Vitamin C has antioxidant properties, contributes to collagen fiber synthesis, protects against free radicals, and strengthens the immune system. Additionally, it provides essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, which are crucial for overall mental and physical health. Modern-day technologies have shed light on fruits' nutritional value, as several antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-cancer, antibacterial, and antiviral bioactive compounds have been identified. These qualities make it a sought-after ingredient for health-focused products.
A superfood for the future
As interest in healthy eating and sustainable farming grows, sea buckthorn shines as a versatile crop with its leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruits being used. From nutritious foods to wellness products, it supports a healthier, eco-friendly future. Different products can be manufactured from sea buckthorn berries containing large amounts of biologically active compounds. The plant, apart from its wide variety of bioactive compounds, is also distinguished for its adaptability. It thrives in poor soil and harsh climates, making it a suitable crop for sustainable farming.
SYMPEGA - Pilot cultivation of five (5) varieties of Se-Buckthorn, using Precision Agriculture techniques, to develop high-nutrition value yogurt as a healthy diet standard.
The SYMPEGA project focuses on the pilot cultivation of five sea buckthorn varieties using precision agriculture techniques to develop high-nutrition value yogurt, promoting it as a standard for healthy diets.
In Greece, there is no officially documented application of Precision Agriculture in Sea Buckthorn cultivation. Sea buckthorn exists as a native plant in several countries in Europe and Asia; however, its cultivation in Greece is at an early stage. The aim of the project is the practical application of the findings of previous research studies in the pilot cultivation of five varieties of Sea Buckthorn to enhance the productivity of the crop. Following an optimal business model for Precision Agriculture, an increase in both the quantity & quality of agricultural yield is expected while using fewer inputs. The harvested berries are being used to produce (on a lab scale as well as on a pilot scale) an innovative food product: biofunctional yogurt enriched with sea buckthorn. This product responds to the market opportunity created by the ever-increasing consumer demand for healthy and functional foods. As the sea buckthorn market is promising, with increased profit margins & global demand steadily growing, the proposed approach will be instrumental in saving input costs while increasing the production of higher-nutritional-value fruits.
“The SYMPEGA project is funded under the Rural Development Program for Greece—Measure 16 of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food”.
The article has been written by Marianna Lagonikou and Paraskevi Liakopoulou, EU R&D Project Coordinators at Rezos Brands, on behalf of the project.
References:
- Sławińska, N., Żuchowski, J., Stochmal, A., & Olas, B. (2023). Extract from sea buckthorn seeds—a phytochemical, antioxidant, and hemostasis study; effect of thermal processing on its chemical content and biological activity in vitro. Nutrients, 15(3), 686.
- Wang, Z., Zhao, F., Wei, P., Chai, X., Hou, G., & Meng, Q. (2022). Phytochemistry, health benefits, and food applications of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.): A comprehensive review. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13, 1038770.
- Gâtlan AM, Gutt G. Sea Buckthorn in Plant Based Diets. An Analytical Approach of Sea Buckthorn Fruits Composition: Nutritional Value, Applications, and Health Benefits. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 26;18(17):8986. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18178986. PMID: 34501575; PMCID: PMC8431556.
- El-Sohaimy, S. A., Shehata, M. G., Mathur, A., Darwish, A. G., Abd El-Aziz, N. M., Gauba, P., & Upadhyay, P. (2022). Nutritional Evaluation of Sea Buckthorn “Hippophae rhamnoides” Berries and the Pharmaceutical Potential of the Fermented Juice. Fermentation, 8(8), 391. https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation8080391