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As women, we are all faced with a bewildering variety of women’s supplements and vitamins to choose from. You and I probably take one or two every day, but do we really know what they are and where they come from? This guide contains information about some of the most popular women’s supplements. Evening Primrose Oil Evening primrose oil is made from the seeds of the common evening primrose, which is found growing in eastern and central North America[1]. Evening primrose is a herbaceous plant with bright yellow flowers, and can grow to a height of 6 feet. As well as providing oil, the entire plant is edible; the peppery leaves can be used as green vegetables, the roots can be boiled like potatoes and the flowers are edible too[2]! Evening primrose oil contains about 7-10% gamma-linoleic acid, which is also found in hemp seed and in spirulina. Lecithin Lecithin is a type of fatty substance which can be extracted from animal and vegetable tissues. It was first extracted from egg yolks in the mid 19th century by Theodore Nicolas Gobley, a French chemist[3]. In fact, the name lecithin comes from the Greek word for egg yolk, “lekithos”. In addition to being used as a supplement, lecithin is used in animal feed, in paint and in motoring lubricants. Today, lecithin is usually made from soybeans or sunflowers. Kelp Kelp is a large seaweed and is actually a colony of brown algae[4]. Kelp grows in kelp forests, which are found along polar and temperate ocean coasts around the world[5]. Brown kelp is a rich source of iodine, containing up to 1,000 times the concentration found in seawater[6]. Kelp is an important part of Japanese cooking, used to flavour soups and stews, and a wrapper for other foods[7]. It is also used to produce alginate, which is used to thicken foods such as ice cream, and as a fertiliser. Collagen Collagen is a naturally occurring protein found in the connective tissues and muscles of animals, making up about 25%-35% of their total protein[8]. Collagen is used to make gelatine, which is used in many foodstuffs. It is also widely used in plastic and reconstructive surgery, cosmetics and supplements. Folic Acid Folic acid, also known as vitamin B9, is found in leafy vegetables, beans and liver. In fact, its name comes from the Latin word “folium”, which means “leaf”. Folic acid is used widely as a food additive; for example it is added to flour in the United States and Canada[9]. [1]Germplasm Resources Information Network. “Oenothera biennis” http:// www. ars-grin. gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?25521 [2]Alternative Nature Online Herbal. “Evening Primrose” http:// www. altnature. com/gallery/Evening_Primrose.htm [3]Theodore Nicolas Gobley. Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, Paris, 1850, 17, 401 [4]D. Thomas (2002). “Seaweeds”. The Natural History Museum, London, ISBN 0 565 09175 1 [5]K.H. Mann (1973). “Seaweeds: their productivity and strategy for growth”. Science 182: 975-981. [6]University of Delaware (2008). “Iodine Helps Kelp Fight Free Radicals” http: // newswise. com/articles/view/541835/ [7]Emi Kazuko (2002). “Japanese Cooking” ISBN 0-681-32327-2 [8]Di Lullo, Gloria A.; Sweeney, Shawn M.; Körkkö, Jarmo; Ala-Kokko, Leena; San Antonio, James D. (2002). "Mapping the Ligand-binding Sites and Disease-associated Mutations on the Most Abundant Protein in the Human, Type I Collagen". J. Biol. Chem. 277 (6): 4223–4231. doi:10.1074/jbc.M110709200. [9]Honein MA, Paulozzi LJ, Mathews TJ, Erickson JD, Wong LY (2001). "Impact of folic acid fortification of the US food supply on the occurrence of neural tube defects". JAMA 285 (23): 2981–6. http:// jama. highwire. org/content/285/23/2981.full.pdf
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