Borage Oil No Salve for Eczema
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FRIDAY, Dec. 12 (HealthDayNews) -- Borage oil, sold as starflower oil in
health food stores, does not improve symptoms of eczema, says a study in
this week's British Medical Journal. More from Yahoo! Health:
The study included 151 people with atopic eczema. For 12 weeks, they
received daily doses of either high-dose borage oil or a placebo. The high
dose borage oil contained 920 milligrams of gamma linolenic acid (GLA), an
essential fatty acid required for normal skin function.
Over the course of the study, the patients' eczema symptoms were scored
using recognized scales. The symptoms and signs of eczema improved to a
similar degree in both groups. Those in the placebo group actually showed
marginally greater improvement than those taking the borage oil.
The findings suggest GLA offers no useful benefit in treating atopic eczema,
the study authors write.
GLA is also found in evening primrose oil.
An editorial in the same issue of the British Medical Journal says this
finding, along with other recent developments, indicates the use of GLA
supplementation to treat atopic eczema has had its day.