Sea Buckthorn Leaves and the Novel Food Evaluation

Abstract

Novel food means any food that was not used for human consumption to a significant degree within the European Union before 1997. The novel food regulation (EC) 258/97 concerns also foods and food ingredients consisting of or isolated from plants, except the food having a history of safe food use within the European Union before 1997. According to the knowledge thus far, sea buckthorn (Hippophaë rhamnoides L.) leaves have not been used to a significant degree as food, food supplement, or spice in European Union before 1997. The new regulation on novel foods (EU) No. 2015/2283 (Anonymous, 2015) comes into force in the beginning of 2018. After that also history of safe use in a third country is accepted as information of its traditional use. This means continued use for at least 25 years in the customary diet of a significant number of people. Novel food application has to include the description of the product, production process, characteristics and composition, proposed uses and use levels, anticipated intake, history of its use, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, nutritional and toxicological information and allergenicity. Sea buckthorn leaves have been under active research lately and a lot of information is already available, but safety assessment required for novel food evaluation may still be needed.

In Search of Authenticity Biomarkers in Food Supplements Containing Sea Buckthorn: A Metabolomics Approach

“…Consumption of SB berries and derived preparations has been related to health-beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system (e.g., lipid metabolism, platelet aggregation, and inflammation) [54][55][56][57], glucose and lipid metabolism [58][59][60][61], and associated also with activities such as the immunomodulatory [62,63], antioxidant [64,65], antiviral [66,67], protective and curative effects in different pathologies [11,[68][69][70][71]. The leaves and the new tender shoots have a similar chemical profile as berries but with significantly higher amounts of phenolic compounds [17,41,[72][73][74][75], being a rich source of crude protein (on average 15%), crude fat, and macro-and microelements [33,42,[76][77][78], being recommended in the production of new pharmaceutical or food ingredients and supplements [73,79,80]. The leaves have been reported to have anti-inflammatory [81,82], antioxidant [73,83], immunomodulatory [63], antimicrobial [84,85], anti-platelet and anticoagulant potential [86], as well as other health proprieties …”

Granulated Animal Feed and Fuel Based on Sea Buckthorn Agro-Waste Biomass for Sustainable Berry Production

“…Out of the total SBT biomass, leaves are valorized for other applications in some countries. In China, Mongolia, Scandinavian countries, Germany, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Russia, and Greece, SBT leaves are used for the preparation of tea with antioxidant properties [11,[29][30][31]. In India, leaves are used as a feed additive for chicken and cattle [32], and in Mongolia-for the treatment of colitis and enterocolitis in humans and animals [33].…”