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Vascular Response Issues

Read on for detailed information about how various oils may help alleviate some symptoms of Vascular Response issues, such as Reynaud's Syndrome.

Evening Primrose Oil
In patients with Raynaud’s Syndrome, a vascular condition characterized by reduced peripheral blood flow leading to ischemia, EPO treatment providing 540mg/day GLA (equating to about 6g/day EPO preparation) for 8 weeks led to a significant reduction in frequency and duration of attacks, severity of attacks, and sensation of coldness in the extremities, but no changes in actual hand temperatures or blood pressures(1). These clinical factors were accompanied by temporary increases in anti-platelet-aggregatory PGI2, and decreases in the pro-aggregatory compound thromboxane B2 although the biochemical changes did not last throughout the study. In rodents, increased dietary EPO has also been reported to result in increased levels of the vasodilatory prostaglandin, PGI2 (2).

Borage Oil
A study investigating the effect of borage oil/GLA on cardiovascular responses to psychosocial stress has reported that borage oil supplementation at a dose of 5.6g/day reduced acute stress-invoked hypertension and heart-rate, and improved mental performance under stressful conditions in healthy subjects; this improvement was suggested to be the result of an improved baroreflex response to changes in blood pressure produced by the stress (4). Similar results were reported in a rodent study using purified GLA fed to rats placed under stressful conditions(5). Improvements in baroreflex-mediated vascular responses to simulated hemorrhage have also been reported in healthy subjects given 3.5g borage oil per day(6). These improvements may imply that borage oil/GLA could help reduce the effects of stress as a cause of essential hypertension (4, 5, 6). Finally, an animal study found reductions in blood pressure in hypertensive and normal rats fed borage oil as 11% of their diet for 7 weeks (3).

The information presented here is for educational purposes only and is not intended as curative or prescriptive advice.

Bibliography
1. Belch JJ, Shaw B, O'Dowd A, Saniabadi A, Leiberman P, Sturrock RD et al. Evening primrose oil (Efamol) in the treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon: a double blind study. Thromb Haemost 1985;54(2):490-4.
2. Guivernau M, Meza N, Barja P, Roman O. Clinical and experimental study on the long-term effect of dietary gamma-linolenic acid on plasma lipids, platelet aggregation, thromboxane formation, and prostacyclin production. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 1994;51(5):311-6.
3. Engler MM, Engler MB, Erickson SK, Paul SM. Dietary gamma-linolenic acid lowers blood pressure and alters aortic reactivity and cholesterol metabolism in hypertension. J Hypertens 1992;10(10):1197-204.
4. Mills DE, Prkachin KM, Harvey KA, Ward RP. Dietary fatty acid supplementation alters stress reactivity and performance in man. J Hum Hypertens 1989;3(2):111-6. 89.
5.Mills DE, Summers MR, Ward RP. Gamma linolenic acid attenuates cardiovascular responses to stress in borderline hypertensive rats. Lipids 1985;20(9):573-7.
6. Mills DE, Mah M, Ward RP, Morris BL, Floras JS. Alteration of baroreflex control of forearm vascular resistance by dietary fatty acids. Am J Physiol 1990;259(6 Pt 2):R1164-71.

 
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