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Wild Rose Hips Health Benefits

Wild rose hips are the fruit found on wild rose plants, though domesticated rose plants do not usually grow hips because of their tight leaf structure preventing pollination. The rose hips are edible and although typically red or orange can be much darker in color and almost black.

Wild roses might not look like the roses in romantic bouquets, but they are members of the Rosa genus. Wild roses such as Rosa rugosa, Rosa cinnamomea, Rosa woods-ii and Rosa canina, also known as the dog rose, have open, wide petals that fully expose the stamens. Rose hips, the fruit of the wild rose plant, appear after blooming. These round or oblong fruits provide food for animals and humans. Rose hips also have high levels of vitamins and may mitigate certain health conditions. Rose hip is the fruit that develops from the blossoms of the wild rose plant. A common ingredient in herbal teas, rose hip is also available in supplement and powdered form. Rose hip contains a number of antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and lycopene.

Wild roses are edible and medicinal. The fruit or hip can be eaten raw or cooked, remove the tiny hairs and seeds in the center. They are used in making jelly and jams and can also be dried to make a tea. Flower petals are great in salads adding a light flavor and beautiful color. The dried leaves are used as a tea substitute. Used as a medicinal plant all over the world for thousands of years wild roses are mentioned many old manuscripts and even in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs. Wild roses are astringent, carminative, diuretic, laxative, nervine and tonic. An infusion of the leaves has been used as a spring tonic.

An infusion of the hips and roots is used in the treatment of colds, fevers, influenza, minor infectious diseases, scurvy, diarrhea, dysentery, and as a treatment for stomach complaints and gastritis. The dried flowers are used in the treatment of heartburn. The infusion has also been used as an analgesic to treat nervous headaches. Its pectoral qualities make it useful as a gargle for coughs and sore throat. A strong decoction of the whole plant is used to treat bladder infection, kidney problems, inflammations, stress, menstrual pains and nervousness. The main constituents responsible for these uses are citric acid, flavonoids, fructose, malic acid, sucrose, tannins, vitamins A, B3, C, D, E, and P, calcium, phosphorus, iron, rutine, hesperidin and zinc. Five wild rose hips are said to be much higher in vitamin C than a whole lemon.

Wild roses are being investigated as a food that is capable of reducing the incidence of cancer and also as a means of halting or reversing the growth of cancers. Rose hips are also known to lower saturated fats and triglycerides, helping to control blood pressure and good for the heart. The seed is rich in vitamin E and an oil extracted from the seed is used externally in the treatment of burns, scars and wrinkles. A poultice of the chewed leaves is used in an emergency to allay the pain of bee stings.

Uses for Rose Hip
Rose hip is touted as a natural remedy for a variety of health problems, including:
• Arthritis
• Back pain
• Diabetes
• Gallstones
• Gout
• Sciatica
• Ulcers
• Urinary tract infections

In addition, rose hip is purported to strengthen the immune system, stimulate circulation, reduce inflammation and help prevent heart disease.

Benefits of Wild Rose Hip

Vitamin C
Rose hips are quite high in vitamin C. While the exact amount can vary by species, as an example, Rosa canina hips may hold as much as 1,250 mg of vitamin C per 100 g of hips. Drugs.com notes that citrus fruits may have only 50 mg of vitamin C, which is 25 times less vitamin C than in the rose hips. This makes rose hips another possible tool with which to fight off vitamin deficiencies and colds, although the German Commission E monographs say the amount of the vitamin disappears quickly. Tea and syrup are common rose hip preparations, and rose hip syrup was an essential source of vitamin C in Britain during World War II. Rose hips also contain concentrations of vitamins A and K; thiamine; riboflavin; niacin; flavonoids; carotenoids; and tannins.

Abdominal Effects
Folk remedies invoke rose hips as a diuretic, laxative and stomach soother. The hips' supposed laxative properties may have something to do with the pectin, malic acid, citric acid or purgative glycosides, which are sugars that can have a laxative-type effect.

Arthritis
Rose hips may soothe arthritis and joint inflammation. Rose hip powder significantly lessened pain in patients with osteoarthritis. The study conducted three short-term trials in which subjects took a placebo or rose hip powder derived from Rosa canina for approximately three to four months. Those patients in each trial who had knee and hip problems and who took the rose hip powder reported the most relief. Another study from 2005 Found that osteoarthritis patients taking rose hip powder experienced pain relief after only three weeks of treatment.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta
The ascorbic acid from rose hips showed promise as part of a treatment for brittle bone disease, or osteogenesis imperfecta, at one point. One study from 1974, published in the journal "Pediatrics," discovered that ascorbic acid derived from rose hips reduced the number of fractures in a group of children with brittle bone disease. However, the National Institutes of Health says vitamin C as a whole may no longer be an appropriate treatment.

Heart Disease
Rose hip may help prevent heart disease in obese people. For the study, 31 obese People consumed a drink containing either rose hip powder or a placebo every day for six weeks. By the study's end, members of the rose hip group showed greater improvements in a number of heart disease risk factors (such as elevated systolic blood pressure and high cholesterol) compared to those in the placebo group. However, other risk factors (such as elevated diastolic blood pressure and increased levels of inflammation) did not differ between the two groups.

Diabetes
Preliminary research indicates that rose hip may help fight diabetes. Endocrinology and Metabolism, scientists found that 20 weeks of treatment with powdered rose hip helped prevent the development of diabetes in mice fed a high-fat diet. Rose hip also appeared to help regulate blood sugar levels and keep cholesterol in check. However, it's too soon to tell whether rose hip might be able to help prevent diabetes in humans.