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Rather than running new experiments, a team led by Zahra Sufwan at Integral University<\/a> traced reported benefits back to specific chemical pathways in the body.<\/p>\n Their focus was Borago officinalis, a plant whose seeds, leaves, and flowers all contain different compounds \u2013 making it both scientifically intriguing and hard to evaluate.<\/p>\n Testing borage\u2019s healing roots<\/p>\n Traditional healers long used borage for respiratory, skin, and digestive complaints, but modern medicine demands clearer proof. <\/p>\n Drug developers now test phytotherapy<\/a> \u2013 plant-based treatments made from standardized extracts \u2013 with the same skepticism applied to conventional pills.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile borage has been used for generations, our review highlights a shift from traditional folklore to evidence-based phytotherapy,\u201d said Sufwan.<\/p>\n That shift matters because borage does not contain a single, uniform ingredient. The plant stores different compounds in its seeds, leaves, and flowers, meaning one bottle of borage extract can differ greatly from another.<\/p>\n The review highlights flavonoids<\/a> \u2013 plant pigments that limit cell damage \u2013 alongside fatty acids and other molecules that influence inflammation.<\/p>\n This chemical diversity makes borage intriguing for drug discovery, but it also underscores the need for careful extraction, testing, and labeling.<\/p>\n Borage and inflammatory healing<\/p>\n Long-lasting inflammation can feed chronic pain and tissue damage, so scientists watch the molecular switches that keep it running.<\/p>\n One target is nuclear factor kappa B, a protein that activates inflammatory genes, and borage compounds appear to dampen its activity.<\/p>\n Such control could matter in diseases where the immune system attacks the body, yet researchers still need consistent results in humans.<\/p>\n Blocking pain pathways<\/p>\n Many anti-inflammatory drugs<\/a> target enzymes that build pain-related chemicals, so researchers compare borage compounds with that same pathway.<\/p>\n A major target is cyclooxygenase-2, an enzyme involved in generating pain signals, and lab evidence indicates that borage chemicals reduce how strongly it functions.<\/p>\n If future trials confirm this effect, borage extracts could complement current therapies, but they could also interact with them.<\/p>\n The healing fats in borage<\/p>\n Seed oil gets the most attention because it concentrates skin-supporting fats and usually contains fewer natural toxins than leaves or flowers.<\/p>\n Its main active fat is gamma-linolenic acid (GLA<\/a>), an omega-6 fat that cells convert into calmer signaling molecules during inflammation.<\/p>\n A separate analysis found that borage seed oil contains 15 to 22 percent gamma-linolenic acid, and mixtures can outperform the isolated fat.<\/p>\n Trials that check reality<\/p>\n A long-running trial tested borage oil in atopic dermatitis<\/a>, long-lasting itchy eczema driven by inflammation, across adults and children.<\/p>\n Adults took a daily borage oil dose for 12 weeks, but skin symptoms improved more in the placebo group.<\/p>\n That outcome did not support routine use, and it shows why early promise needs repeatable results in larger groups.<\/p>\n Metabolic disease involves more than blood sugar, because chronic inflammation can distort how the body stores fat and manages cholesterol.<\/p>\n The review links borage to peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, a gene switch that improves insulin response, which may lower unhealthy blood fats.<\/p>\n Researchers have reported changes in diabetic markers, but the field still lacks large trials that track heart attacks or strokes.<\/p>\n Oxidative damage can weaken cells over time, and it can accelerate problems linked to aging<\/a>, toxins, and loss of nerve cells.<\/p>\n The review describes oxidative stress, a form of cell injury caused by reactive oxygen molecules, and notes that borage boosts natural antioxidant enzymes.<\/p>\n Those defenses may explain reports of brain and liver protection in animals, but human evidence remains thin and inconsistent.<\/p>\n Promising results, limited proof<\/p>\n Some claims about borage center on the brain, where inflammation and oxidative damage can impair memory and mood. <\/p>\n Animal studies suggest borage extracts may protect nerve cells by lowering inflammatory signals and supporting normal chemical communication.<\/p>\n A few small human studies have explored effects on anxiety<\/a> and compulsive symptoms, but the data remain too limited to guide everyday care.<\/p>\n Researchers are also examining borage in more extreme biological settings, including infection and cancer, where cell behavior becomes highly disrupted. <\/p>\n Laboratory experiments show that some extracts can slow bacterial growth or stress tumor cells, often by damaging membranes or activating self-destruction pathways. <\/p>\n These findings can inspire new drug concepts, but they still require rigorous safety testing.<\/p>\n Borage dosage makes the difference<\/p>\n Dose can change the story, and animal experiments showed that high amounts of borage extract affected convulsions, not just inflammation<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe potential is vast, ranging from anticancer applications to skin healing,\u201d said Dr. Javed Akhtar Ansari, a co-author of the study from Integral University.<\/p>\n Manufacturers will need standardization, making extracts with repeatable ingredient levels, or researchers cannot compare results across studies.<\/p>\n Promise, potency, and patience<\/p>\n Safety reviews focus on pyrrolizidine alkaloids \u2013 plant toxins<\/a> that can injure the liver \u2013 which can appear in some parts of the borage plant. <\/p>\n Toxicology research shows these compounds can cause genetic damage after the body metabolizes them, raising long-term safety concerns.<\/p>\n European regulators have responded by setting strict maximum limits for these alkaloids in teas, herbs, and borage leaves, formalized in a 2020 food safety rule.<\/p>\n Taken together, the findings argue for caution. Across laboratory experiments and limited human studies, borage shows real biological effects, but the strength of evidence varies widely by condition. <\/p>\n Clear standards, stronger safety testing, and larger clinical trials will determine whether borage advances as a drug candidate or remains confined to the supplement aisle.<\/p>\n The study is published in the journal Biological Diversity<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For generations, borage has been brewed and applied as a remedy for everything from sore joints to skin…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[64,63,137,490,14160],"class_list":{"0":"post-407697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-medication","12":"tag-plants"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}