Introduction of Evening Primrose Oil:EPO or King's cure-all.

Popular Herbs. ✵The article gives records of the herb Evening Primrose Oil, its English name, Latin name, common names, property and flavor, its botanical source one plant species, ①.Oenothera biennis L., with a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this plant species, the growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species, the features of the herb Evening Primrose Oil, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guide.

Evening Primrose Oil(EPO).

Oenothera biennis:yellow flowers English Name: Evening Primrose Oil.
 Latin Name: Oenothera biennis L.
 Common Names: King's cure-all.
 Property and flavor: warm in nature, tastes sweet and bitter.

 Brief introduction: Evening primrose is a wildflower native to eastern North America. The seeds contain an oil rich in an important substance called gamma-linoleic acid.

 Botanical source: Common herbal classics defined the herb Evening Primrose Oil as the oil of the species (1). Oenothera biennis L. It is a plant species of the Oenothera genus, the Onagraceae family (evening primrose family). The oil is used medicinally. This commonly used species is introduced:

(1).Oenothera biennis L.


 Oenothera biennis:flowering plants Botanical description: Oenothera biennis is a biennial strong herb, basal rosette leaves clinging to the ground; The stem is 50~200 cm high, unbranched or branched, with curly pilose and long hair, and glandular hairs are often mixed at the upper end of the stem branches.

 The basal leaves are oblanceolate, 10~25 cm long and 2~4.5 cm wide, with a sharp apex, cuneate base, sparsely irregular shallow obtuse teeth at the edge, 12~15 lateral veins on each side, and both surfaces are villous and piliferous; Petiole is 1.5~3 cm long. Stem leaves are oval to oblanceolate, 7~20 cm long and 1~5 cm wide, the apex is sharp or short taper, the base is cuneate (wedge-shaped), 5~19 sparse blunt teeth on each side of the edge, 6~12 lateral veins on each side, and both sides are villous and piliferous, especially glandular hairs are often mixed with the leaf margin under the upper part of the stem; Petiole is 0~15 mm long.

 Oenothera biennis:flowering plants Inflorescences are spicate, unbranched, or with secondary lateral inflorescences below the main inflorescence; Bracts are leaf-shaped, the length of buds is 1/2 of that of flowers, and when they grow up, they are elliptic-lanceolate, becoming smaller from bottom to top, subsessile, 1.5~9 cm long and 0.5~2 cm wide. The buds are persistent in fruit, coniform(conical) and oblong, 1.5~ 2 cm long and 4~5 mm thick, with a rostrum (beak) about 3 mm long at the top. The flower tube is 2.5~3.5 cm long and 1~1.2 mm in diameter, which is yellow-green or reddish when blooming and is mixed with pilose, extended long hairs, and short glandular hairs; After flower shedding; Sepals are green, sometimes reddish, oblong-lanceolate, 1.8~2.2 cm long, 4~5 mm wide at the lower part, and 3~4 mm long at the apex. They stand upright in the bud, close to each other, fold back from the base when opening, but turn up in the middle, and their indumentum is with the same flower tube; Petals are yellow, pale yellow, broadly obovate, 2.5~3 cm long and 2~2.8 cm wide, with slightly concave apex; The filaments are nearly equal in length, 10~18 mm long; Anthers are 8~10 mm long, and pollen is about 50% developed; The ovary is green, cylindrical, 4-sided, 1~1.2 cm long and 1.5~2.5 mm thick, densely covered with long and short glandular hairs, sometimes mixed with villous; The style is 3.5~5 cm long, and the part extending out of the flower tube is 0.7~1.5 cm long; Stigma is surrounded by anthers. When flowering, pollen is directly given to the stigma lobes, which are 3~5 mm long. The bright yellow flowers usually bloom in the evening and remain open only through the following day.

 Capsularfruit is cone-cylindrical, narrowing upward, 2~3.5 cm long, 4~5 mm in diameter, and erect. Green, hair is the same as ovary, but gradually sparse, with obvious edges. The seeds and fruits are horizontally arranged, dark brown, prismatic, 1~1.5 mm long, 0.5~1 mm in diameter, and angular, with irregular pits on each mask.

 Oenothera biennis:flowering plants Ecological environment: Oenothera biennis is native to North America, the eastern USA (the United States of America), and Canada, it was introduced to Europe in the early years and then quickly spread to temperate and subtropical regions of the world. It is cultivated in China, and grow in the wild field. The USA and Canada alone produce more than three hundred to four hundred tones of the seeds annually.

 Growth characteristics: Oenothera biennis often grows on the roadside of open and barren slopes. It is drought-resistant, barren land, black soil, sandy soil, loess, young forest land, light saline-alkali land, wasteland, floodplain land, and hillside land are all suitable for planting.

 Pharmacological actions: ①.source of GLA and cis-linoleic acid; ②.lowering blood cholesterol; ③.relieve itching and atopic eczema; ④.antitumor and anticancer; etc.

 The evening primrose oil contains about 7%~10% GLA (gamma-linoleic acid) and cis-linoleic acid,individuals who get little GLA through their diets may benefit from taking GLA-rich supplements like evening primrose oil. GLA can help prevent or treat heart disease and stroke by lowering blood cholesterol levels and reducing the stickiness of blood platelets. GLA can also relieve itching and other symptoms associated with atopic eczema and other skin disorders. Evening primrose oil can kill certain tumor cells in tests, it also relieves breast tenderness, and other PMS (premenstrual syndrome) symptoms such as irritability, depression, and bloating improved significantly in women taking Evening primrose oil.

 Medicinal efficacy: Evening primrose was used by Native American tribes as a food and remedy for various ailments, traditionally it was used as an astringent and sedative, treatment for stomach and intestinal disorders, asthmatic cough, whooping cough, encourage wound healing, treating anxiety, and to keep skin healthy. The oil contains abundant amounts of essential fatty acids (EFAs), especially GLA (gamma-linoleic acid) and cis-linoleic acid, GLA has the potential to ameliorate conditions like arthritis, inflammatory skin diseases such as eczema, premenstrual syndrome, hair loss, breast pain, infertility especially in men, weak immune-system function, heart disease.

 Administration of Evening Primrose Oil (EPO): 
 
Reference: Administration Guide of Evening Primrose Oil (EPO)
Herbal classic books: A common dosage is 250 mg, taken up to three times a day. For PMS (premenstrual syndrome), the oil is taken two to three days before the expected onset of symptoms. For inflammatory and cardiovascular disorders, about 270~720 mg a day of evening primrose oil, equivalent to 1 to 2 grams of GLA (gamma-linoleic acid). For atopic eczema, 250 to 500 mg of GLA a day is recommended.
 Contraindications, Precautions and Adverse Reactions: Evening primrose oil qualifies favorably in terms of safety when taken in typically recommended amounts. A commercial supplier of the oil who carried out animal toxicity studies reported a sound safety profile.

 

 
  

 

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References:
  • 1.Introduction of Evening Primrose Oil:EPO or King's cure-all.

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