Borage seed

Borage is a bristly annual herb with hairy, grey-green leaves and striking blue, star-shaped flowers. After flowering, each bloom produces four dark brown to black, wrinkled nutlets, about three to five millimetres long, which fall easily from the plant.

The seeds themselves are not eaten as a culinary seed. They are cold-pressed to give a pale golden oil that has a faint, mild, slightly nutty scent.

Borage seed oil is sold in liquid form and in softgel capsules, and the ground seed cake is a by-product. The cucumber-flavoured flowers and leaves are the parts commonly used in the kitchen.

Borago officinalis is native to the Mediterranean region, with a range running through southern Europe and North Africa, and it has long been naturalised across much of Europe, western Asia and North America. It is easily grown as a garden herb and self-seeds freely.

Borage is now grown as an oilseed crop in several countries, including Canada, parts of Europe and New Zealand, for its seed oil.

The origin of the name is uncertain. Some derive it from medieval Latin borrago, possibly from an Arabic phrase meaning father of sweat, while others link it to a word for rough hair, referring to the bristly leaves.

Borage has been a garden herb in Europe since antiquity and the Middle Ages. Medieval and Renaissance herbals recommended it to lift spirits and bring courage, and the Roman writer Pliny wrote that it brought cheerfulness. The flowers were floated in wine and cordials, and candied for decoration.

The seeds were a minor ingredient in its traditional medicine, but the modern interest in them began in the 20th century, when researchers found that borage seed oil contained an unusually high concentration of gamma-linolenic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, higher than that in evening primrose or blackcurrant seed oils.

Borage seed oil then became a supplement for skin conditions and women's health in the 1980s and 1990s, and it was marketed as a natural source of GLA.

Concerns about pyrrolizidine alkaloids in borage plants led regulators and producers to develop standards, including for pressed oil, and to select low-alkaloid cultivars.

Borage seed oil is taken as a dietary supplement for its gamma-linolenic acid content and is used in creams, lotions and oils for dry or irritated skin. It is sometimes included in infant skin products and cosmetics.

In the kitchen, the flowers and young leaves, not the seeds, are used in salads, drinks and as decorations on desserts, with a cool, cucumber-like taste.

In garden use, the plant is grown for bees, and borage seeds are sometimes saved for sowing, though they are not a typical edible seed.

Borage oil is notable for gamma-linolenic acid, which the body converts into anti-inflammatory signalling compounds. Clinical trials of GLA-rich oils for rheumatoid arthritis, eczema and other conditions have given mixed or modest results, and reviews describe the evidence as limited.

It should not be viewed as a proven treatment for any condition. If used, pick a supplement stated to be free of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.