Rosehips and uses

[SharonStudent]

I’m confused (total shock to those who know me – I live in a perpetual state of confusion about something much of the time).  Doc stated somewhere that tincturing rosehips pretty much destroys the vitamin C (unless I’m remembering wrongly), but he sells Rosehip Tincture in the herb store.  So what benefit is the rosehip tincture if not for vitamin C?  I just wildcrafted several pounds of them today, and I’m thinking that maybe the best use would be to dry them, then powder them and use the powder for a winter vitamin bump daily.  Thank you in advance.

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

It’s true that tincturing is hard on vitamin C. It’s not a very stable vitamin and tincturing beats up more than half of it.

The good news is that rose hips, like most other herbs, have a hard time just doing one thing. They have some other great phytochemicals that do nice things such as:  antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties (they can help with arthritis and asthma), antimicrobial properties, cardiovascular benefits (blood pressure, cholesterol), immune system modulation, GI health (ulcers and happy gut bugs) and neuroprotective effects (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s etc…)

I have a lesson on roses somewhere. Looks like I need to get it polished up and posted

 

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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Lisa Derksen, Robette, Sharon, Jennifer Nehus

[SharonStudentTopic Author]

Thanks Doc.  So if I’m understanding you correctly, all those “other” benefits you mentioned (other than vitamin C) are what we could expect to get with a tincture?  Dried with vodka is better than fresh with x% alcohol?  I have used 75% with a couple of things (like fresh gumweed) before, so I can make my alcohol whatever strength it needs to be, it’s super easy to do!

Also, is there any way to figure out how much dried and powdered hips one should take daily?  It’s not like they come with a dosage chart LOL!  I look forward to hearing more on this – I have them in the freezer as I write this, awaiting either tincturing and/or drying.  Thanks again Doc!

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Sharon wrote:

Thanks Doc.  So if I’m understanding you correctly, all those “other” benefits you mentioned (other than vitamin C) are what we could expect to get with a tincture?  Dried with vodka is better than fresh with x% alcohol?  I have used 75% with a couple of things (like fresh gumweed) before, so I can make my alcohol whatever strength it needs to be, it’s super easy to do!

Also, is there any way to figure out how much dried and powdered hips one should take daily?  It’s not like they come with a dosage chart LOL!  I look forward to hearing more on this – I have them in the freezer as I write this, awaiting either tincturing and/or drying.  Thanks again Doc!

I dry everything before I tincture. Saves me a lot of thinking. LOL

Dose for dry powder is 1-2 rounded teaspoons. Tincture is 1/2 -1 teaspoon

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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Sharon

[SharonStudentTopic Author]

Hey Doc.

The benefits can I expect to get with a tincture of rosehips since the vitamin C is beat up so badly are the things you listed above (antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties (they can help with arthritis and asthma), antimicrobial properties, cardiovascular benefits (blood pressure, cholesterol), immune system modulation, GI health (ulcers and happy gut bugs) and neuroprotective effects (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s etc…)?  These are all present in the tincture itself – correct?

Would the stuff that’s left in the tincture (not vit C) be more beneficial than the vitamin C itself if I kept it as powder and didn’t tincture?  In other words, which scenario is more beneficial to the body?

Also, how much dried powdered rosehips one should take daily? You mentioned 1-2 rounded teaspoons, but 1) that would require A LOT of rosehips when these wild ones aren’t even as big as a grape, and 2) how many milligrams of vitamin C would that amount of powder give you?  Is there any way to know how much is in the powder, or how much one would need of this type of powder?  Obviously, it won’t be easy to figure out like the “lab created” ascorbic acid would be.  So the long and the short of my questions would be – better to dry it and use as a vitamin C powder (like in smoothies), or use it as a tincture (based on what you say is left and still beneficial).

Thanks again.

• This reply was modified 7 months ago by Sharon.
• This reply was modified 7 months ago by Sharon.

[Greg BoggsStudent]

So I think the main benefit to tincturing the rosehips is just to extend the shelf life, although the quicker absorption into the body would also be a benefit.

From what I could find, there were tests showing 426 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of unpowdered rose hip. So, that would work out to 4.26mg of vitamin C per gram, if a teaspoon is around 2ish grams, you’re looking close to 11mg of vitamin c per teaspoon.

Personally, I would get my Vitamin C from a capsule first before going to rosehips IF that study I found is accurate. Upon further research though, this study shows that the Vitamin C content of rosehips varies wildly based on species. So, the most important thing would be to figure out what species of rose you are getting your rose hips from, then reference that chart on page 337 to see the average content of Vitamin C that they tested on. Now, these numbers may not directly transfer over to your roses since this study was in the UK and showed that there is a correlation between the latitudinal range of the British rose species and the vitamin C content of their rose hips, however, I think it would provide you a good starting point shy of sending your rose hips to a lab to be tested.

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Sharon

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Greg Boggs wrote:

So I think the main benefit to tincturing the rosehips is just to extend the shelf life, although the quicker absorption into the body would also be a benefit.

From what I could find, there were tests showing 426 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams of unpowdered rose hip. So, that would work out to 4.26mg of vitamin C per gram, if a teaspoon is around 2ish grams, you’re looking close to 11mg of vitamin c per teaspoon.

Personally, I would get my Vitamin C from a capsule first before going to rosehips IF that study I found is accurate. Upon further research though, this study shows that the Vitamin C content of rosehips varies wildly based on species. So, the most important thing would be to figure out what species of rose you are getting your rose hips from, then reference that chart on page 337 to see the average content of Vitamin C that they tested on. Now, these numbers may not directly transfer over to your roses since this study was in the UK and showed that there is a correlation between the latitudinal range of the British rose species and the vitamin C content of their rose hips, however, I think it would provide you a good starting point shy of sending your rose hips to a lab to be tested.

The point on Vitamin C content varying wildly is spot on. It also relates to when it was harvested, growing conditions, etc….

If one wants to know exactly how much vitamin you’re getting, take a regulated product.

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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Sharon

[Kathy LarsenStudent]

Thanks for the information.

[SharonStudentTopic Author]

Great – and thanks!  So if I am understanding correctly, then these things that are left when tinctured (antioxidants, anti-inflammatory properties (they can help with arthritis and asthma), antimicrobial properties, cardiovascular benefits (blood pressure, cholesterol), immune system modulation, GI health (ulcers and happy gut bugs) and neuroprotective effects (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s etc…) is something that we could take every day as a “tonic” – yes?

That’s another thing that I think a lot of us have commented on the desire to have – a list of herbs/tinctures that we can use long term (like daily) vs those that we should only use a short time (like 2 weeks).  That would be incredibly helpful!  Thanks in advance.

[SharonStudentTopic Author]

Resurrecting this since I’ve not yet gotten the rose hips into any hooch – life just KEEPS getting in my way!  I now plan on making capsules of things that are in my herb cabinet that are aging (about like I am I fear!), so I’m wondering…  I dried my rosehips complete, nothing removed from them.  So would they be ok as a powder and put in capsules – the “itchy” stuff in them shouldn’t matter at that point, correct?

Doing a web search, I found the following information – hoping that the bulk of it is correct – hard to know what to trust on the internet these days!

Rosehips may have many benefits, including:
Arthritis pain relief – Rosehip powder might help ease pain due to osteoarthritis. A few studies show that rosehip may also help people with long-term back pain.
Rosehip products have been shown to have strong anti-inflammatory effects. This is linked to a group of compounds found in the fruit called galactolipids. Some doctors think rosehip might be an alternative to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Unlike NSAIDs, rosehip does not appear to thin the blood or cause stomach irritation and possible ulcers. More research is needed, though.
Rosehip has been shown to lower glucose blood levels in a way similar to that of agents currently used to treat type 2 diabetes.
Results of an animal study with mice, indicated that rosehip may help prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.
Additionally, other early animal studies hint that a daily drink containing about 40 grams of rosehip powder may also:
Lower cholesterol
Lower blood pressure
Reduce obesity related to a high-fat diet

?? Rosehip supplements may raise your risk of certain types of kidney stones. (Scare tactics from big pharma?), of course, Doc Jones has a formula for kidney stones should that happen!

Thanks in advance for any helpful commentary on this!

[Dr. Patrick JonesHomestead Instructor]

Powdered rose hips in a capsule won’t be a problem.

Don't use herbs or combine herbs with medications or use them during lactation or pregnancy without talking with your healthcare provider.

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Sharon

[SharonStudentTopic Author]

Curious how much of the “web collected” info above is actually correct.  Thanks for letting me know about the capsules – just curious on the “facts” collected!

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