seabuckthorn

It seems no wonder, therefore, that a 1990 assessment put China's total area of seabuckthorn at about I million hectares, and the total value of its products at more than $20 million per year.

2. China 1997

The seabuckthorn root system, for example, is so extensive that its roots can branch many times in a growing season and form a complex underground network that holds the soil from slippage like wire reinforcing mesh in concrete.

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This is why the seabuckthorn bushes play such a prominent role in protecting river banks, preventing floods and minimizing slope erosion.

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Approximately 50,000 tons of seabuckthorn berries are harvested annually and processed into 200,000 tons of various products valued at $35.7 million.

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Although China was one of the earliest countries in the world to use seabuckthorn as a medicinal plant, until 1980 its use was limited to Tibet and Mongolia.

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The Chinese government has invested more $25 million in seabuckthorn research and development.

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At present, 1.2 million hectares (95 percent of world total) of seabuckthorn are under cultivation in 19 provinces.

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The plant known in English as seabuckthorn, was recorded in the Tibetan medicinal classics (the Four Books of Pharmacopoeia) completed in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).

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The processing of seabuckthorn medicinal products did not start in China until 1986.

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Annee advises choosing ingredients rich in essential fatty acids like natural vegetable oils such as evening primrose oil, blackcurrant or Argan and seabuckthorn.

Evening Standard - Home Alice Hart-Davis 2011