The Dog Rose (Rosa canina) is a common hedgerow prickly, thorny bush found throughout northern Europe. It is noted however for its summer flowers and its fruit, the rosehip. Rosehips are the tiny, oval fruits that form when the flower petals disappear. The hip is favoured as a food source by all sorts of birds and animals.

Hips need to be de-seeded before consumption. The seeds themselves are an excellent source of oil.

Consumption of rose hip extracts have long been associated with exceptional vitamin C contents, as a cosmaceutical and for general good health.

Rose Hips And Cardiovascular Benefits

Studies indicate the extract could also improve on cardiovascular health.  It appears to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels in obese people. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden and Nordic ASA/Orkla in Norway have assessed rose hip performance in some heart health studies with human subjects. This built on earlier studies in mice where rose hip had prevented or reversed obesity in mice feeding on a high fat diet and suffering glucose intolerance.

The study with clinically obese subjects found that when given a daily dose of 40mg rose hip (Rosa canina) enriched beverage for six weeks, the subjects enjoyed a significant reduction in their total cholesterol, LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels of 6% and systolic blood pressure of 3.5%.  This was compared to the consumption of a placebo beverage without the rose hip extract. The Reynolds risk assessment score for cardiovascular disease was decreased in the rose hip group compared with the control group. There was no significant difference in body weight, diastolic blood pressure, glucose tolerance or plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

No mechanisms for the reduction were suggested although rose hip, like many plant extracts has significant quantities of antioxidants and other components which may help in the biochemical pathways that produce such effects.

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References

Andersson, U., Berger, K., Högberg, A., Landin-Olsson, M., & Holm, C. (2011). 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. Eur. J. Clin.  Nutr. 66(5), pp. 585-590. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.203