Omnia SanaSymptom → Plant Sources
Dog-rose (Rosa canina) and Skin irritation: evidence and sources
inferred from anti-inflammatory action
For educational purposes only, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified practitioner before using medicinal plants, especially alongside prescribed medication, during pregnancy, or for a serious condition.
Rose hip, rose hip and seed and rose hip seed, all were negatively monographed by the German Commission E due to insufficient evidence of effects and effectiveness. Therefore a comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to summarize the pharmacological and clinical effects of Rosa canina L. to reevaluate its usefulness in traditional medicine. For various preparations of rose hip and rose hip and seed, antioxidative and antiinflammatory effects have been demonstrated. Lipophilic constituents are involved in those mechanisms of action. The proprietary rose hip and seed powder Litozin has been employed successfully in a number of exploratory studies in patients suffering from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and low back pain. However, the sizes of the clinical effects for the different indications need to be determined to assure clinical significance. There is also a rationale behind the use of Litozin as part of a hypocaloric diet based on the rose hip probiotic, stool regulating and smooth muscle-relaxing actions, as well as the rose hip seed lipid-lowering, antiobese and antiulcerogenic effects. Further research is needed to clarify the importance of the reported promising experimental effects in clinical use and to characterize the optimum rose hip seed oil preparation for topical use in the treatment of skin diseases.
1 source supporting Dog-rose for Skin irritation. Includes scientific publications, books, monographs and traditional-use references.
Mechanistic basis
This use is associated with the plant's anti-inflammatory action. Further evidence for that pharmacology:
The aim of the present study was to compare powdered rose hip with and without fruits (Rosa canina L., Rosaceae) with regard to their phytochemical profile and their in vitro anti-inflammatory and radical-scavenging properties. The two powders were extracted with solvents of increasing polarity and tested for inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX-1, COX-2) and of 5-LOX-mediated leukotriene B4 formation as well as for DPPH-radical-scavenging capacity. While the water and methanol extracts were inactive in the COX-1, COX-2 and LTB4 inhibition assays, the n-hexane and the dichloromethane extracts inhibited all three enzymes. In the active extracts, the triterpenoic acids ursolic acid, oleanolic acid and betulinic acid were identified. The radical scavenging activity of the extracts correlated very well with their total phenolic content.