Monday Aug 18, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- Postmenopausal women often have vaginal atrophy, the thinning and drying of vaginal mucosa, which naturally occur.  Although estrogen therapy may help some women, not all women could rely on the hormone therapy to relieve the condition.

A new study published in Maturitas suggests that oral supplementation with sea buckthorn oil can relieve vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women who could not use estrogen therapy.

For the study, 116 postmenopausal women who experienced vaginal dryness, itching or burning were randomized to take 3 grams of sea buckthorn oil as a dietary supplement or placebo for three months.

Sea buckthorn oil supplementation significantly improved the integrity of vaginal epithelium compared to the placebo.  Improvement of vaginal health index was also associated with sea buckthorn oil supplementation from baseline through the end of the trial.

The study concludes "SB (sea buckthorn) oil showed beneficial effects on vaginal health, indicating it is a potential alternative for mucosal integrity for those women not able to use estrogen treatment for vaginal atrophy."  (David Liu, PHD)

Larmo PS, Yang B, Hyssälä J, Kallio HP, Erkkola R.  Effects of sea buckthorn oil intake on vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.   Maturitas. 2014 Jul 21.