NATURAL PRODUCTS

Rose Hip (Rosa canina)

Rose Hip is a heavily promoted natural product included in some Vitamin C preparations.  Usually, there is little information provided about Rose Hip other than it supposedly makes the Vitamin C preparation better.  In actuality is doesn’t.  Rose Hip contains 0.2 - 2% Vitamin C and 0.6% Vitamin E, depending on the species of the plant.  The active compounds in Rose Hip are the traces of Vitamin C and fatty oils.

Vitamin C from Rose Hip is identical to the Vitamin C from other sources.  The only differences are the fatty and volatile oils, tannins, and malic and citric acids that are not extracted from the product.  There is no difference between Vitamin C with Rose Hip and generic Vitamin C, except maybe psychologically.  Vitamin C with Rose Hip is not bad, but it also doesn’t offer anything clinically.

The effects of Rose Hip are due to Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and citric acid, both of which can acidify the urine and help clear compounds with a basic pH from the body. Vitamin C has long been proven to prevent scurvy at a minimum dose of 46 mg daily and its proponents believe it can also prevent colds and the flu.  The current RDA for Vitamin C is 60 mg daily.  However, many people consider the typical daily dose of Vitamin C for an adult to be 250 - 500 mg.  But, a recent medical study at the University of Southern California reported that continued Vitamin C doses of 500 mg or more daily can lead to cardiovascular disease and a lower dose has been suggested.  This study and others has suggested a daily Vitamin C dose of 100 - 200 mg.  Other recent studies in the medical literature have suggested that the RDA be increased to 120 mg of Vitamin C daily, and that a daily dose of 1,000 mg or more will result in an increase in adverse reactions.

Additional studies, such as the Physicians' Health Study II are in process and are looking at the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and eye disease by vitamins E and C.

Copyright 2000 Solumedia.   All rights reserved.  This information may not be duplicated or transmitted in any manner without the express written permission of Solumedia.

Legal Info:  Solumedia is not responsible for errors or omissions.  The information provided on the natural product pages is only a guideline based on current literature and the pharmacological action of these products.  It should not be used as the sole source of information on these products.  Many of the drug interactions listed are not found in current literature but are based on likely interactions due to the actions of the interacting drugs.  It is recommended that a qualified and licensed healthcare professional be consulted for additional information.  Although the information provided is from reliable sources, Solumedia has no liability.  This information is provided only as a service.

This page was last updated on 04/29/05.