Sea Buckthorn berries

A photo from my archives, taken on 2 October 2010. Photographed (macro) these beautiful, shiny Sea Buckthorn berries at South Glenmore Park. Also referred to as sandthorn, sallowthorn or seaberry.

"Sea-buckthorn berries are edible and nutritious, though very acidic (astringent) and oily, unpleasant to eat raw, unless 'bletted' (frosted to reduce the astringency) and/or mixed as a juice with sweeter substances such as apple or grape juice.

When the berries are pressed, the resulting sea-buckthorn juice separates into three layers: on top is a thick, orange cream; in the middle, a layer containing sea-buckthorn's characteristic high content of saturated and polyunsaturated fats; and the bottom layer is sediment and juice. Containing fat sources applicable for cosmetic purposes, the upper two layers can be processed for skin creams and liniments, whereas the bottom layer can be used for edible products like syrup.

Nutrient and phytochemical constituents of sea-buckthorn berries may have potential effect in inflammatory disorders, cancer prevention or positive effect on bone marrow after chemotherapy or other diseases, although no specific health benefits have yet been proven by clinical research in humans.

The fruit of the plant has a high vitamin C content – in a range of 114 to 1550 mg per 100 grams with an average content (695 mg per 100 grams) about 15 times greater than oranges (45 mg per 100 grams) – placing sea-buckthorn fruit among the most enriched plant sources of vitamin C."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-buckthorn