Description
Sea buckthorn omega-7 at 500 mg a serving, from Hippophae rhamnoides berry and seed oil, carbon dioxide extracted, 60 servings at about 48 cents each. The active fatty acid is palmitoleic acid, and the first thing to be clear about is that sea buckthorn omega-7 is a monounsaturated fat that behaves nothing like the omega-3s shelved beside it. The number refers to where the double bond sits, not to a family relationship.
What is in the softgel
| Oil | 500 mg per serving, berry and seed oil combined |
|---|---|
| Active | palmitoleic acid, a 16 carbon monounsaturated fat |
| Plant | Hippophae rhamnoides |
| Extraction | supercritical carbon dioxide, no solvent residue |
| Servings | 60, about 48 cents each |
| Not | an omega-3, and not a substitute for EPA or DHA |
| Oxidation | peroxide, anisidine and TOTOX published per lot |
Omega-7 against omega-3, since the names mislead
Omega numbering counts carbons from the methyl end of a fatty acid to the first double bond. Omega-3 fatty acids have that bond at the third carbon and are polyunsaturated. Palmitoleic acid has one double bond at the seventh carbon and is monounsaturated. They are different molecules doing different things, and a sea buckthorn omega-7 softgel is not a cheaper route to the compounds in a fish oil.
The omega and fats page lists them separately with their own amount columns for that reason, and it prices the omega-3 products by the gram of EPA plus DHA, which is a figure this product does not have.
Berry oil and seed oil are different fractions
In sea buckthorn omega-7 the pulp and skin oil is where palmitoleic acid concentrates, orange and thick. The seed oil is richer in linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid and paler. Many products use one and label it as sea buckthorn oil without distinguishing, which changes the fatty acid profile considerably. This one states that both are present.
What the published work used
Human studies on sea buckthorn oil have generally administered 2 to 3 grams a day over one to three months, with endpoints including tear film break up time and dry eye symptom questionnaires, skin hydration and transepidermal water loss instruments, and blood lipid panels. Several used whole oil rather than an isolated fraction. Those are the amounts given and the instruments read in the literature, and not claims about this bottle.
The dose gap, stated plainly
A 500 mg serving is well below the 2 to 3 grams those studies used, so matching a protocol would take four to six softgels a day. We print that rather than leave it for you to work out, because the shelf dose and the research dose are different numbers here and a buyer who has read one of those papers deserves to know.
What a sea buckthorn omega-7 serving costs
About 48 cents, and the figure under the price is per milligram of oil rather than per milligram of palmitoleic acid, because the palmitoleic fraction varies with the berry. That is stated rather than glossed over, and the pricing method across the shop is set out in why price per milligram beats the price on the bottle.
Why sea buckthorn omega-7 is extracted with carbon dioxide
It leaves no solvent residue and runs at low temperature, which matters for a carotenoid rich oil that darkens and oxidises with heat. The residual solvent line on the certificate is where that claim is checked rather than taken on trust.
Storage and oxidation
Any unsaturated oil oxidises, and sea buckthorn omega-7 is strongly coloured as well, so heat and light both matter. Peroxide value, anisidine value and the composite TOTOX figure are published for every lot, and a rancid lot is withdrawn rather than discounted.
Testing
Every lot of sea buckthorn omega-7 is assayed for fatty acid profile by an independent laboratory and screened for heavy metals, pesticides, residual solvents and microbials. Out of specification lots are withdrawn and the report stays published. For the reference framing on fatty acids generally, the NIH omega-3 fact sheet is the clearest free source on how the families differ.
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