Borage (Borago officinalis)

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Evening Primrose (Oenothera spp.)

All the pages of the site are accessible through the menu at the top of each page. In particular, full text of all my publications can be accessed through the chronological listing in the publications section. If you are looking for some specific information it is worth searching for particular keywords using the search box at the bottom of this page as the site has been indexed by the Google search engine. However the indexing is outside of my control, and not all pages may have registered so I have also provided some links below to topics which I hope you may find interesting.

Evening Primrose (Oenothera spp.)

 

	The uses (and potential uses) of evening primrose oil in the pharmaceutical industry (1999).
	A more technical treatment of the same subject, with information on the development of the evening primrose crop (1993).
	An evaluation of the market for GLA-containing oils, including evening primrose and borage (2000).
	A review of Chinese research, cultivation and use on evening primrose. China produces around 90% of the world's supply of evening primrose oil (2001).
	An insight into the development of evening primrose oil as a pharmaceutical product (1993).
	Oxidation in evening primrose oil (2000).
	Commercial factors affecting the development of evening primrose crop production (1992).
	An early description of how the evening primrose crop was domesticated (1982).
	The problems which had to be overcome in domesticating evening primrose (1999).
	Evening primrose growing trials in Pakistan (1998).

GLA and other fatty acids

The essential fatty acids are a vital component in the human metabolism. Here is some background information:

	Fatty acids - where they come from and why they are important (2000).
	A really cool animated diagram of the pathway showing how the fatty acids are made in the body. You need the CHIME plug-in (free download from here ), but it's well worth the effort. (2001).
	For those who have wondered why gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) is so called, and why there is an alpha-linolenic acid but no beta-linolenic acid, an article by Frank Gunstone explains all. (2005)

David Horrobin

David Horrobin was a pioneer in the development of our knowledge and understanding of the role of fatty acids in human nutrition. Here is a full bibliography of his published work:

	Articles and books. (2005)
	Patents (2005).
	Index of co-authors (2005).

Other sources of GLA

Evening primrose is not the only source of GLA:

	Other oils containing GLA (2000).
	GLA can be produced using Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) (1997).
	Technical description of the isolation of the gene for making GLA (1997).
	A comparison of evening primrose oil with borage oil (1993).
	How the borage crop was domesticated (1999).

Developing Novel Crops

There are a number of species which are potential new crops, or whose use could be dramatically extended. This subject has long been an area of interest for me, and I have expressed a number of thoughts over the years:

	Factors which affect the commercial viability of new crops (1989).
	New crops and European subsidies (1992).
	New crops and agrochemical usage (1992).
	General principles for the development of novel pharmaceutical crop plants (1993).
	Oil crops for the pharmaceutical industry (1993).
	The attitude of the pharmaceutical industry to crop-derived raw materials (1993).
	Obstacles to pharmaceutical crop development (1998).
	Breeding dwarf runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) as a protein crop (1979).
	Production of dyes from traditional crops (written by my co-authors) (1997).
	How to build a flotation machine to find the remains of crops grown by ancient civilisations (included just for fun) (1974).

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