Rosehip’s Benefits, Inside & Out

It’s In The Hips

Rosehip (often also written: “rose hip”, “rosehips”, or “rose hips”, but we’ll use the singular compound here to cover its use as a supplement) is often found as an extra ingredient in various supplements, and also various herbal teas. But what is it and what does it actually do?

What it is: it’s the fruiting body that appears on rose plants underneath where the petals appear. They are seasonal.

As for what it does, read on…

Anti-inflammatory

Rosehip is widely sought for (and has been well-studied for) its anti-inflammatory powers.

Because osteoarthritis is one of the most common inflammatory chronic diseases around, a lot of the studies are about OA, but the mechanism of action is well-established as being antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in general:

❝Potent antioxidant radical scavenging effects are well documented for numerous rose hip constituents besides Vitamin C.

Furthermore, anti-inflammatory activities include the reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, reduction of NF-kB signaling, inhibition of pro-inflammatory enzymes, including COX1/2, 5-LOX and iNOS, reduction of C-reactive protein levels, reduction of chemotaxis and chemoluminescence of PMNs, and an inhibition of pro-inflammatory metalloproteases.❞

~ Dr. Margret Moré et al.

Source: Rosa canina – Rose hip pharmacological ingredients and molecular mechanics counteracting osteoarthritis – A systematic review

Note that while rosehip significantly reduces inflammation, it doesn’t affect the range of movement in OA—further making clear its mechanism of action:

Read: Rosa canina fruit (rosehip) for osteoarthritis: a cochrane review

Anti-aging

This is partly about its antioxidant effect, but when it comes to skin, also partly its high vitamin C content. In this 8-week study, for example, taking 3mg/day resulted in significant reductions of many measures of skin aging:

The effectiveness of a standardized rose hip powder, containing seeds and shells of Rosa canina, on cell longevity, skin wrinkles, moisture, and elasticity

Heart healthy

The dose required to achieve this benefit is much higher, but nonetheless its effectiveness is clear, for example:

❝Daily consumption of 40 g of rose hip powder for 6 weeks can significantly reduce cardiovascular risk in obese people through lowering of systolic blood pressure and plasma cholesterol levels. ❞

~ Dr. Mona Landin-Olsson et al.

Read in full: Effects of rose hip intake on risk markers of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease: a randomized, double-blind, cross-over investigation in obese persons

Want to try some?

We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon

Enjoy!