The Research Behind Sea Buckthorn Oil

Last updated November 13, 2026

Membrasin® is built on research, not promises. Its key ingredient, SBA24®, is a sea buckthorn oil made in Finland from both the berry and the seed, and Finnish researchers have studied sea buckthorn oil in randomized, placebo-controlled human trials for women's intimate health, dry eye and more. Here are the main published human studies, what each tested and what it found, with a link to the paper so you can read it yourself.

At a glance

Area	Study	Who	Daily dose, length	Key finding
Vaginal health	Larmo et al., Maturitas, 2014^¹	116 postmenopausal women	3 g oil, 3 months	Significantly better improvement in vaginal tissue integrity than placebo
Dry eye	Larmo et al., Journal of Nutrition, 2010^²	100 adults with dry eye	2 g oil, 3 months	Less rise in tear film osmolarity than placebo; 83% fewer reported severe redness
Dry eye	Järvinen et al., Cornea, 2011^³	Same trial	2 g oil, 3 months	Benefits weren't explained by tear fatty acids
Skin	Yang et al., Journal of Applied Cosmetology, 2009^⁴	60 women aged 50–70 (30 took capsules)	2 g SBA24®, 3 months	Skin hydration up 49% and elasticity up 26% from the start (no placebo group)

What's in SBA24®

SBA24® is made from both the berry and the seed, and that shows in what it contains. Compared with ordinary sea buckthorn seed oil, SBA24® has:^⁴

	SBA24®	Sea buckthorn seed oil
Omega-7 (palmitoleic acid)	24%	1%
Carotenoids (per 100 g)	180 mg	30 mg
Vitamin E: tocopherols and tocotrienols (per 100 g)	400 mg	100 mg
Plant sterols (by weight)	1.2%	0.5%

That's about 24 times the omega-7, six times the carotenoids and four times the vitamin E.

Vaginal health

The Maturitas trial (2014)^¹

The question: can oral sea buckthorn oil help the vaginal lining after menopause, without estrogen?

The study: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. 116 postmenopausal women with vaginal dryness, itching or burning took 3 g of sea buckthorn oil or a placebo oil every day for three months. A gynecologist scored vaginal health at the start and end.

What it found:

More than twice as many women improved in vaginal tissue integrity with sea buckthorn oil as with placebo (36% vs 16%).*
The overall vaginal health index trended better with sea buckthorn oil (P=0.08).
The authors concluded that sea buckthorn oil showed beneficial effects on vaginal health and is a potential option for women who can't use estrogen.

Side effects: reported about as often with sea buckthorn oil as with placebo (16% vs 14%), most often stomach symptoms.

Who funded it: Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) and Aromtech, the maker of SBA24®.

Read the full study (PDF) · PubMed

Dry eye

Sea buckthorn oil's effect on mucous membranes has also been studied in the eyes.

The Journal of Nutrition trial (2010)^²

The study: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. 100 women and men aged 20 to 75 with dry eye symptoms took 2 g of sea buckthorn oil (Aromtech's standardized berry and seed oil) or placebo oil daily for three months, from fall into winter; 86 completed it.

What it found:

Tear film: over the cold season, tear film osmolarity (a key marker of dry eye) rose in both groups, but significantly less with sea buckthorn oil.
Fewer severe symptoms: 6% of people taking sea buckthorn oil reported severe eye redness, compared with 36% on placebo, 83% fewer (P=0.04). Among those who took it consistently, 12% reported severe burning, compared with 32% on placebo, 63% fewer (P=0.04).
The authors concluded that sea buckthorn oil positively affected dry eye symptoms.

Read the full study (PDF) · PubMed

The Cornea follow-up (2011)^³

Researchers analyzed tear samples from the same trial. The oil didn't change the fatty acids in the tear film, which suggests its benefits for dry eye work another way. The authors point to the oil's carotenoids and tocopherols (vitamin E) and their effect on inflammation.

Read the study on PubMed

Skin

The Journal of Applied Cosmetology study (2009)^⁴

The question: can SBA24® taken by mouth support healthy, mature skin?

The study: 60 women aged 50 to 70 (average age 61) were randomly split into two groups of 30. One group took SBA24® capsules every day (2 g of oil, four 0.5 g capsules) for three months. The other applied a sea buckthorn seed oil night cream. Skin on the forehead was measured with instruments at the start, after one month and after three months, at an independent testing institute in Milan. There was no placebo group, so each group was compared with its own starting point.

What it found with SBA24® capsules:

Skin hydration rose 34% after one month and 49% after three months (P<0.001 vs the start).
Overall skin elasticity rose 16% after one month and 26% after three months (P<0.001 vs the start).
Skin smoothness trended better: roughness fell by 7 to 9% at three months, though this wasn't statistically significant.
Skin tone and thickness didn't change.

Good to know: the study had no placebo group, so some of the change could come from other factors, and it was carried out with Aromtech, the maker of SBA24®. Treat it as an encouraging early study.

Read the full study (PDF)

Other sea buckthorn research

These studies used sea buckthorn berries, a different sea buckthorn oil or a topical form, so their results don't apply directly to SBA24®, but they add to what's known about the plant.

Common cold and inflammation (2008): in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 254 healthy adults, sea buckthorn berries didn't prevent colds or digestive infections, but C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation, fell compared with placebo.^⁵ PubMed
Metabolism in overweight women (2013): a randomized crossover trial in 80 overweight women compared sea buckthorn berries, sea buckthorn oil, a berry extract and bilberries over 30 days each. The berries' effects on blood metabolites depended on each woman's starting metabolic profile.^⁶ PubMed
Eyelid spray (2019): a topical spray of sea buckthorn oil with hyaluronic acid, applied to closed eyelids, relieved dry eye symptoms compared with an untreated eye.^⁷ PubMed
A different sea buckthorn oil (2024): in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial, 40 women over 45 took one softgel a day of another brand of sea buckthorn oil (Omegia™, 500 mg) or a placebo for 12 weeks. The authors reported improvements in skin measures; self-reported vaginal symptoms decreased in both the sea buckthorn and placebo groups.^⁸ Read the study

What this means for you

The vaginal health evidence is the strongest and the most relevant. It's the only one of these trials in postmenopausal women that measured the vaginal lining, and it tested exactly what Membrasin® Vitality Pearls are for.
The dry eye trials point the same way. Sea buckthorn oil also benefited the eyes' mucous membranes in a placebo-controlled trial.
Give it three months. The vaginal health and dry eye trials both ran for three months, so that's how long to give it.

Why women choose Membrasin® Vitality Pearls

Made with SBA24®, a clinically studied sea buckthorn oil blend from Finland that supports mucosal tissue health.
Hormone-free support from within. Two softgels a day, with nothing to apply.
Backed by a placebo-controlled trial. More than twice as many women improved in vaginal tissue integrity with SBA24® as with placebo (36% vs 16%).*
Shared by 750+ clinicians, including OB/GYNs, on FrontrowMD. Read their reviews
Rated 4.6★ from over 5,000 customer reviews on Amazon and ellanu.com.
Trusted for decades. 1,000,000+ women have used Membrasin® since it launched in Europe in 1998.
Made in Finland, in an FDA-registered, GMP-certified facility in Lapland.
Try it for the full 90 days. If you're not completely satisfied, we'll refund your purchase.†

Shop Vitality Pearls · Shop the Membrasin® System

*Larmo et al., Maturitas 2014: 116 postmenopausal women took 3 g of sea buckthorn oil or placebo daily for 3 months. Two Vitality Pearls provide 1 g of SBA24®. The dry eye and skin studies used 2 g a day. Individual results may vary.

†Membrasin® Guarantee: 90 days from delivery. See our refund policy.

Sources

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;79:316–321. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2014.07.010 (PubMed 25104582).
Larmo PS, Järvinen RL, Setälä NL, Yang B, Viitanen MH, Engblom JR, Tahvonen RL, Kallio HP. Oral sea buckthorn oil attenuates tear film osmolarity and symptoms in individuals with dry eye. J Nutr. 2010;140(8):1462–1468. doi:10.3945/jn.109.118901 (PubMed 20554904).
Järvinen RL, Larmo PS, Setälä NL, Yang B, Engblom JR, Viitanen MH, Kallio HP. Effects of oral sea buckthorn oil on tear film fatty acids in individuals with dry eye. Cornea. 2011. doi:10.1097/ICO.0b013e3182035ad9 (PubMed 21832964).
Yang B, Bonfigli A, Pagani V, Isohanni T, von-Knorring Å, Jutila A, Judin V. Effects of oral supplementation and topical application of supercritical CO2 extracted sea buckthorn oil on skin ageing of female subjects. J Appl Cosmetol. 2009;27:1–13.
Larmo P, Alin J, Salminen E, Kallio H, Tahvonen R. Effects of sea buckthorn berries on infections and inflammation: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602831 (PubMed 17593932).
Larmo PS, Kangas AJ, Soininen P, et al. Effects of sea buckthorn and bilberry on serum metabolites differ according to baseline metabolic profiles in overweight women: a randomized crossover trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.060590 (PubMed 23945716).
Larmo P, Järvinen R, Laihia J, et al. Effects of a sea buckthorn oil spray emulsion on dry eye. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2019. doi:10.1016/j.clae.2018.11.011 (PubMed 30497904).
Chan LP, Yen TW, Tseng YP, Yuen T, Yuen M, Yuen H, Liang CH. The impact of oral sea-buckthorn oil on skin, blood markers, ocular, and vaginal health: a randomized control trial. J Funct Foods. 2024;112:105973. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2023.105973. Funded by Puredia, the maker of Omegia™.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.