ABOUT SEA BUCKTHORN

IN THE UK SINCE THE PRE-GLACIAL PERIOD

According to archeological records, sea buckthorn has been growing in the UK since at least the pre-glacial period. Sea buckthorn is a hardy, and very thorny, pioneer plant that thrives in conditions where other plants cannot survive due to salinity, temperature, altitude, or soil pH. It is able to enrich the soil through its ability to fix nitrogen and its roots are excellent at capturing water runoff. Despite being native to parts of South East Scotland, its paleoethnobotany here has largely been lost in the mists of time…

HISTORICAL MENTIONS

There was recorded use of sea buckthorn in Tibetan medicine as early as the 8th Century. It is even thought to have been used by Military Leaders (Genghis Khan and Alexander the Great) to fuel their armies, and horses, as they built their empires.

THE OLYMPICS AND OUTER SPACE

The Chinese Olympic team used sea buckthorn as their official drink in the 2008 Beijing Olympics to boost their strength, endurance and overall health, with great success! 

Sea buckthorn had a surge of interest from the Russian Government (and military) from the mid-1900s and was used by Russian cosmonauts on the first manned space mission due to its powerful antioxidant qualities.

The Indian army has also used sea buckthorn to fuel high-altitude operations.