Sea buckthorn plant as a functional food ingredient, with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties

Plants with valuable health properties, rich in a spectrum of compounds with various biological activities, have long been a focus of interest of researchers and the food industry. Undoubtedly, it is a great challenge for science to compose an innovative product with functional food status, managing to combine as many advantages of a particular plant preparation as possible to obtain a product that satisfies the requirements of a specific group of consumers. This article provides a brief overview of current information on the status of sea buckthorn plant (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) as a food ingredient, as well as its interesting biological activity. Sea buckthorn is a very valuable plant in terms of its content of various substances of high nutritional value, which recently makes the plant an area of growing scientific and industrial interest. This is due to its broad biological properties, extremely rich phytochemical composition and extensive pharmacological activ-ity, especially antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. The above-mentioned advantages of sea buckthorn and its preparations make it a good candidate for a food ingredient that can be used in functional food prod-ucts produced with the support of modern food industry technologies.