Supplementation of evening primrose oil (EPO) - benefits and limitations. Results of the latest studies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.34.01.007Keywords
supplements, herbal medicine, evening primrose oil (EPO)Abstract
Introduction
One of the most frequently used herbal drugs in the pharmaceutical industry is Oenothera biennis, traditionally called evening primrose. Oil extracted from seeds of a plant is a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids- omega 6 essential fatty acids (EFAs). Healing properties of evening primrose oil (EPO) have been used for ages in order to alleviate symptoms of various medical conditions. Nowadays, studies and clinical trials are conducted with the aim of verifying its effectiveness.
The aim of the study
Summarize current knowledge on the effectiveness of evening primrose oil in treatments of various diseases.
Material and methods
The search of the Pubmed database was carried out using keywords, in order to find the latest publications.
Summary
Despite limitations, research shows that supplements containing evening primrose oil (EPO) demonstrate promising results in treatments of various medical conditions, including menopause, premenstrual syndrome, skin problems or multiple sclerosis. However, more well-designed clinical trials are needed to evaluate long-term effectiveness.
References
Ekor M. The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Front Pharmacol. 2014 Jan 10;4:177. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2013.00177. PMID: 24454289; PMCID: PMC3887317.
Majdinasab N, Namjoyan F, Taghizadeh M, Saki H. The effect of evening primrose oil on fatigue and quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2018 Jun 12;14:1505-1512. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S149403. PMID: 29928122; PMCID: PMC6003444.
Bayles, Bryan, and Richard Usatine. “Evening primrose oil.” American family physician vol. 80,12 (2009): 1405-8.
Safdari F, Motaghi Dastenaei B, Kheiri S, Karimiankakolaki Z. Effect of Evening Primrose Oil on Postmenopausal Psychological Symptoms: A Triple-Blind Randomized Clinical Trial. J Menopausal Med. 2021 Aug;27(2):58-65. doi: 10.6118/jmm.21010. PMID: 34463069; PMCID: PMC8408320.
Granica, S., Czerwińska, M. E., Piwowarski, J. P., Ziaja, M., & Kiss, A. K. (2013). Chemical Composition, Antioxidative and Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Extracts Prepared from Aerial Parts of Oenothera biennis L. and Oenothera paradoxa Hudziok Obtained after Seeds Cultivation. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 61(4), 801–810. doi:10.1021/jf304002h
Rostański, K.; Rostański, A.; Gerold-Śmietańska, I.; Wąsowicz, P. Evening - Primroses (Oenothera) Occuring in Europe; W. Szafer Instituteof Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences: Katowice-Kraków, 2010; p157.
Mahboubi M. Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) Oil in Management of Female Ailments. J Menopausal Med. 2019 Aug;25(2):74-82. doi: 10.6118/jmm.18190. Epub 2019 Aug 5. PMID: 31497576; PMCID: PMC6718646.
Montserrat-de la Paz S, Fernández-Arche MA, Ángel-Martín M, García-Giménez MD. Phytochemical characterization of potential nutraceutical ingredients from Evening Primrose oil (Oenothera biennis L.) Phytochem Lett. 2014;8:158–162
Moradi, Maryam et al. “The effect of evening primrose oil on labor induction and cervical ripening: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” Phytotherapy research : PTR vol. 35,10 (2021): 5374-5383. doi:10.1002/ptr.7147
Christie WW. The analysis of evening primrose oil. Ind Crops Prod. 1999;10(2):73–83.
4. Fan YY, Chapkin RS. Importance of dietary gamma-linolenic acid in
human health and nutrition. J Nutr. 1998;128(9):1411-1414.
Rahman, H., Kim, M., Leung, G., Green, J. A., & Katz, S. (2017). Drug-Herb Interactions in the Elderly Patient with IBD: a Growing Concern. Current Treatment Options in Gastroenterology, 15(4), 618–636. doi:10.1007/s11938-017-0154-y
Kazemi F, Masoumi SZ, Shayan A, Oshvandi K. The Effect of Evening Primrose Oil Capsule on Hot Flashes and Night Sweats in Postmenopausal Women: A Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. J Menopausal Med. 2021 Apr;27(1):8-14. https://doi.org/10.6118/jmm.20033
Farzaneh F, Fatehi S, Sohrabi MR, Alizadeh K. The effect of oral evening primrose oil on menopausal hot flashes: a randomized clinical trial. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2013; 288: 1075-9.
Mehrpooya M, Rabiee S, Larki-Harchegani A, Fallahian AM, Moradi A, Ataei S, et al. A comparative study on the effect of “black cohosh” and “evening primrose oil” on menopausal hot flashes. J Edu Health Promot 2018;7:36.
Sharif, S. N., & Darsareh, F. (2019). Impact of evening primrose oil consumption on psychological symptoms of postmenopausal women. Menopause, 1. doi:10.1097/gme.0000000000001434
Dante, G., & Facchinetti, F. (2010). Herbal treatments for alleviating premenstrual symptoms: a systematic review. Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology, 32(1), 42–51. doi:10.3109/0167482x.2010.538102
Budeiri, D et al. “Is evening primrose oil of value in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome?.” Controlled clinical trials vol. 17,1 (1996): 60-8. doi:10.1016/0197-2456(95)00082-8
Hemmatzadeh, Shahla et al. “Evening primrose oil for cervical ripening in term pregnancies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Journal of complementary & integrative medicine, 10.1515/jcim-2020-0314. 14 Jul. 2021, doi:10.1515/jcim-2020-0314
Kalati, Mahnaz et al. “Evening primrose oil and labour, is it effective? A randomised clinical trial.” Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : the journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology vol. 38,4 (2018): 488-492. doi:10.1080/01443615.2017.1386165
Kaźmierska, A.; Bolesławska, I.; Polańska, A.; Dańczak-Pazdrowska, A.; Jagielski, P.; Drzymała-Czyż, S.; Adamski, Z.; Przysławski, J. Effect of Evening Primrose Oil Supplementation on Selected Parameters of Skin Condition in a Group of Patients Treated with Isotretinoin—A Randomized Double-Blind Trial. Nutrients 2022, 14, 2980. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14142980
Kaźmierska, A.; Bolesławska, I.; Jagielski, P.; Polańska, A.; Dańczak-Pazdrowska, A.; Kosewski, G.; Adamski, Z.; Przysławski, J. Effect of Evening Primrose Oil Supplementation on Biochemical Parameters and Nutrition of Patients Treated with Isotretinoin for Acne Vulgaris: A Randomized Double-Blind Trial. Nutrients 2022, 14, 1342. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14071342
Bamford JT, Ray S, Musekiwa A, van Gool C, Humphreys R, Ernst E. Oral evening primrose oil and borage oil for eczema. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Apr 30;2013(4):CD004416. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004416.pub2. PMID: 23633319; PMCID: PMC8105655.
Lee JH, Kim JE, Park GH, Bae JM, Byun JY, Shin MK, Han TY, Hong SP, Jang YH, Kim HO, Na CH, Lew BL, Ahn J, Park CO, Seo YJ, Lee YW, Son SW, Choi EH, Park YL, Roh JY. Consensus Update for Systemic Treatment of Atopic Dermatitis. Ann Dermatol. 2021 Dec;33(6):497-514. doi: 10.5021/ad.2021.33.6.497. Epub 2021 Nov 4. PMID: 34858001; PMCID: PMC8577915.
Chung BY, Park SY, Jung MJ, Kim HO, Park CW. Effect of Evening Primrose Oil on Korean Patients With Mild Atopic Dermatitis: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study. Ann Dermatol. 2018 Aug;30(4):409-416.
Ku, C.W.; Ku, C.O.; Tay, L.P.C.; Xing, H.K.; Cheung, Y.B.; Godfrey, K.M.; Colega, M.T.; Teo, C.; Tan, K.M.L.; Chong, Y.-S.; Shek, L.P.-C.; Tan, K.H.; Chan, S.-Y.; Lim, S.X.; Chong, M.F.-F.; Yap, F.; Chan, J.K.Y.; Loy, S.L. Dietary Supplement Intake and Fecundability in a Singapore Preconception Cohort Study. Nutrients 2022, 14, 5110. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235110
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Sylwia Grosman, Aleksandra Winiarz, Katarzyna Wąsala, Wojciech Wokurka, Michał Turek, Paula Szlendak, Katarzyna Toś, Kacper Wojtala, Agata Węgrzyniak, Dominik Drobek
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The periodical offers access to content in the Open Access system under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
Stats
Number of views and downloads: 1542
Number of citations: 0
