Last updated: 20th September 2002

BLUEBUR

Family: Boraginaceae

Genus: Lappula

Species: echinata

Source: http://www.syngenta.co.uk		Source: http://ag.arizona.edu

Contents

General Background
Details of Quality Characteristics
Current Production and Yields
Constraints upon Production
Markets and Market Potential
Other Information
Research
Useful Websites
BioMat Net
Contacts
References

General Background

An annual or winter annual with an erect growth habit growing to 60 cm tall with leaves 7 cm long and 1 cm wide. The leaves and stems are covered in stiff hairs which are irritating to skin. The flowers are blue, 4 mm wide with petals fused into a 5-lobed corolla. The sepals are fused also. Each flower produces four seeds. The flowers appear in June and July first only at the top of the plant and later on side branches. The seeds are 2.3 mm x 1.2mm and brown and warty. They have a double row of spines with star shaped hooks on the end which enables them to attach to fur and fabric.

Bluebur occurs in most of Europe except in the extreme north and west. It is probably only naturalized in the north of Europe, it is not found in the UK, but it is found in the US. Bluebur grows on roadsides, waste places, around buildings and overgrazed ranges and cultivated fields. It is spread by seed, being a prolific seed producer, and the seeds are readily spread on animal hair and clothing due to the hooked spines on the seeds (Communication from Scotia Pharmaceuticals)

Details of Quality Characteristics

The seed oil contains stearidonic acid (all cis 6,9, 12, 15-octadecatetraenoic acid, (6, 9, 12, 15-18 :4)). This is a member of the (n-3) family of polyenoic acids which is present in most fish oils.

Fatty acid composition of some members of the Boraginaceae family (Craig and Bhatty 1964)

a = a Linolenic acid
b = g linolenic acid
c = Stearidonic acid

Oil as % of seed by weight (Craig and Bhatty 1964)

Current Production and Yields
No information available.

Constraints upon Production

Bluebur is not really suited to conditions in northern European countries or Scandinavia, therefore production is slightly restricted. Otherwise it is very invasive and grows like a weed.

Markets and Market Potential

The C18:4 acid is purported to have medicinal properties.
Stearidonic acid is important as a precursor in the metabolic pathway leading to the formation of longer chain fatty acids and prostaglandin and therefore plays a key role in human metabolism. In western society many people are thought to be suffering from a degree of stearidonic acid deficiency. Stearidonic acid is also thought to be an anti-inflammatory. The medicinal properties of the C18:4 may be exploited by pharmaceutical companies. There is a case for some form of supplementation with oils containing stearidonic acid which can alleviate stearidonic acid deficiency. Such supplements have been available and successful for many years in the health food market and are well understood by consumers. There may be the opportunity to extend its use into a wider range of 'enhanced' foodstuffs.
(Source: http://www.lapinskas.co.uk)

Other Information

Bluebur has a characteristic smell similar to a mouse infested building.

Research

Only a small amount of research has been done on the value of Stearidonic acid as a supplement but one company is actively promoting two other seed oils from Echium plantagineum and Trichodesma zeylandicum which contain higher levels of stearidonic acid, as potential ingredients for cosmetic products and the seeds of E. plantagineum are now available in tonne quantities (Coupland et al 1996)

Useful Websites


BioMat Net


Contacts


References

• Communication from Scotia Pharmaceuticals, Scotia Plant Research Unit, Writtle College, Chelmsford Essex, to Dr S James, DEFRA, Whitehall Place East, London, SW1 2HH.

• Craig, B. M. and Bhatty, M. K. 1964. A naturally Occurring all-cis 6, 9, 12, 15-Octadecatetraenoic Acid in Plant Oils. JAOCS 14. pp 209-211.

• Coupland, K. ; Coupland, D., and Nichols, J. A. 1996. New sources of lipids containing stearidonic acid - powerful moderators of inflammation.

• IENICA Summery Report for the European Union 2000