Borage ([ Le Robert et Collins English-French Dictionary and the American Heritage Dictionary] Borago officinalis), also known as starflower, is an annual herb in the flowering plant family Boraginaceae native to the Mediterranean region. Although the plant contains small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, some parts are edible and its seeds provide oil.
Description
B. officinalis grows to a height of ,
and is bristly or hairy all over the stems and
leaves; the leaves are
Alternate leaf,
Simple leaf, and long.
The flowers are Complete flower, Perfect flower with five narrow, triangular-pointed petals.
The flowers arise along to form large floral displays with multiple flowers blooming simultaneously, suggesting that borage has a high degree of geitonogamy (intraplant pollination).
It has an indeterminate growth habit. In temperate climates such as in the UK, its flowering season is relatively long, from June to September. In milder climates, borage blooms continuously for most of the year. It can be invasive.
Chemistry
The seeds consist of 26–38% borage seed oil, of which 17–28% is gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, an omega-6 fatty acid), making borage seed oil the richest known source of GLA.
[National Non-Food Crops Centre. NNFCC Crop Factsheet: Borage, Retrieved on 16 Feb 2011] The oil also contains the
palmitic acid (10–11%),
stearic acid (3.5–4.5%),
oleic acid (16–20%),
linoleic acid (35–38%),
eicosenoic acid (3.5–5.5%),
erucic acid (1.5–3.5%), and
nervonic acid (1.5%). Healthy adults typically produce ample GLA from dietary
linoleic acid, but borage seed oil is often marketed as a GLA supplement, under the names "starflower oil" or "borage oil".
The leaves contain small amounts (2–10 ppm in the dried herb) of the hepatotoxicity pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) intermedine, lycopsamine, amabiline, and supinine and the nontoxic saturated PA thesinine.
Distribution and habitat
It is native to the Mediterranean region, and has naturalized in many other locales.
[ Altervista Flora Italiana, Borragine comune, gurkört, Borago officinalis L. includes photos, drawings, and European distribution map] It grows satisfactorily in gardens in most of Europe, such as Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It is not a perennial, but it remains in the garden from year to year by self-seeding.
Toxicity
In addition to the liver-toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in the leaves and seed oil, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment has advised that honey from borage contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), transferred to the honey through pollen collected at borage plants, and advise that commercial honey production could select for raw honey with limited PA content to prevent contamination.
Uses
Traditionally, borage was cultivated for culinary and medicinal uses, although today, commercial cultivation is mainly as an oilseed.
Borage is used as either a fresh vegetable or a dried herb. As a fresh vegetable, borage, with a cucumber-like taste, is often used in salads or as a garnish.
The flower has a sweet, honey-like taste and is often used to decorate and cocktails,
Vegetable use of borage is common in Germany, in the Spanish regions of Aragon and Navarre, on the Greek island of Crete, and in the northern Italian region of Liguria.
Although often used in soups, one of the better known German borage recipes is the Frankfurt speciality grüne Soße ("green sauce").
In Liguria, Italy, borage (in Italian, borragine) is commonly used as a filling of the traditional pasta ravioli and pansoti.
It is used to flavour pickled in Poland
The flowers produce copious nectar
Beverage
Borage is traditionally used as a garnish in the
Pimms Cup cocktail,
but is nowadays often replaced by a long sliver of cucumber peel or by
Mentha. It is also one of the key botanicals in Gilpin's Westmorland Extra Dry Gin. The author of
Cups and their Customs notes that a sprig or two of borage "communicates a peculiar refreshing flavour" to any cool drink.
In Persian people cuisine, borage tea (using the dried purple flowers) is called گل گاوزبان : gol gâvzabân, "cow's-tongue-flower".
Herbal medicine
Traditionally,
Borago officinalis has been used in
hyperactive gastrointestinal,
respiratory and
cardiovascular disorders,
[Gilani A.H., Bashir S., Khan A.-u. "Pharmacological basis for the use of Borago officinalis in gastrointestinal, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders", Journal of Ethnopharmacology 114 (3), pp 393–399, 2007.] such as gastrointestinal (
colic,
cramps,
diarrhea), airways (
asthma,
bronchitis), cardiovascular, (
cardiotonic,
antihypertensive and blood purifier),
urinary (diuretic and kidney/bladder disorders).
[Gilani A.H. "Focused Conference Group: P16 - Natural products: Past and future? Pharmacological use of borago officinalis", Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology. Conference: 16th World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology. WorldPharma 2010 Copenhagen Denmark. Publication: (var. pagings). 107 (pp. 301), 2010. Date of Publication: July 2010.]
One case of status epilepticus has been reported that was associated with borage oil ingestion.[ After taking 1.5 to 3 g of borage oil daily for a week; level of GLA in blood was high.]
A methanol extract of borage has shown strong amoebicidal activity in vitro. The 50% inhibitory concentration () of the extract against Entamoeba histolytica was 33 μg/mLl.
Companion planting
Borage is used in
.
It is said to protect or nurse
legumes,
spinach,
brassicas, and
strawberries.
It is also said to be a good companion plant to
tomatoes because it confuses the mother moths of
or
manduca looking for a place to lay their eggs.
Claims that it improves tomato growth
and makes them taste better
remain unsubstantiated.
In culture
Pliny the Elder and
Dioscorides said that borage was the
nepenthe (νηπενθές : nēpenthés) mentioned in
Homer, which caused forgetfulness when mixed with wine.
King Henry VIII's last wife, Catherine Parr, used borage in a concoction to treat melancholy.[Susan James. Catherine Parr: Henry VIII's Last Love, 2010]
Francis Bacon thought that borage had "an excellent spirit to repress the fuliginous vapour of dusky melancholie".
John Gerard's Herball mentions an old verse concerning the plant: " Ego Borago, Gaudia semper ago (I, Borage, bring always joys)". He asserts:
See also
External links
https://persianmama.com/chai-gol-gavzaban-brewed-borage-tea/
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/557179785128125722/
