# Plant Monograph: Borage
**Name of plant:**
Borage
**Catch phrase (Carmina Gadelica or traditional invocation if available):**
No specific *Carmina Gadelica* invocation for borage is recorded. The traditional Latin-associated name *borago* was sometimes connected with courage and cheerfulness. A traditional-style devotional phrase might be: *“Borage for the heart, borage for courage, borage for the lifting of the spirit.”* This is a modern formulation, not a historical quotation.
**Family:**
Boraginaceae (borage family)
**Genus and species:**
*Borago officinalis* L.
**Other names:**
Borage, common borage, starflower, bee bread, bugloss, cool-tankard, herb of gladness. Gaelic names are not securely established in the classical Scottish Gaelic herbal tradition.
**Brief introduction:**
Borage is an annual herb native to the Mediterranean region and now naturalized in much of Europe and elsewhere. It is a distinctive plant with coarse, bristly leaves and brilliant blue, five-pointed, star-shaped flowers. The flowers are highly attractive to bees, while the young leaves have historically been used as a vegetable and flavouring herb. Borage acquired a reputation in European herbal medicine as a plant of courage, cheerfulness, and the heart, and was traditionally used for fevers, respiratory complaints, and inflammatory conditions.
**Traditional uses:**
* Used traditionally to promote courage, cheerfulness, and emotional resilience.
* Used as a cooling herb during fevers and inflammatory illnesses.
* Used traditionally for coughs, sore throats, and respiratory complaints.
* Young leaves were eaten as a vegetable and used in salads, soups, and beverages.
* Flowers were used to flavour and decorate drinks, particularly summer beverages.
**Historical use:**
* Dioscoridean and later European herbal traditions associated borage with strengthening the spirits and dispelling melancholy.
* Medieval and Renaissance herbalists regarded borage as a cordial herb for the heart.
* Borage leaves were historically prepared as a vegetable or added to salads.
* Infusions were used traditionally for fever and respiratory complaints.
* Borage flowers became particularly associated with cooling summer drinks and punches.
**Parts used and method of use:**
* Young leaves and stems.
* Flowers.
* Seeds, from which borage seed oil is produced.
Used as:
* Fresh young leaves as a culinary herb or vegetable.
* Infusion of aerial parts.
* Flowers fresh or crystallized as a culinary garnish.
* Cold-pressed seed oil as a source of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).
**Use in healing (modern herbal practice):**
* Borage seed oil is used as a dietary source of gamma-linolenic acid.
* Traditionally used for inflammatory and rheumatic complaints.
* Traditionally used for skin conditions associated with inflammation or dryness.
* Borage has been investigated for potential effects on cardiovascular and inflammatory processes.
* Traditionally used as a mild diaphoretic and demulcent for respiratory complaints.
**Pharmacology and biochemistry:**
* Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), particularly concentrated in the seeds.
* Linoleic acid and other polyunsaturated fatty acids.
* Rosmarinic acid and other phenolic compounds.
* Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, including amabiline, lycopsamine, and supinidine derivatives, may occur in the aerial parts and seeds.
Mechanisms:
* GLA can be converted to dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA), which participates in eicosanoid metabolism and inflammatory regulation.
* Phenolic compounds such as rosmarinic acid possess antioxidant and potentially anti-inflammatory activity.
* Pyrrolizidine alkaloids can be metabolically activated into reactive compounds capable of causing hepatic injury.
Overall profile: Borage is pharmacologically interesting primarily because of its unusually GLA-rich seed oil. However, the plant itself contains potentially hepatotoxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This creates an important distinction between properly processed, PA-controlled borage seed oil and preparations made from the leaves, flowers, or unprocessed seeds.
**Common dosage:**
* Borage seed oil: commonly 1–3 g/day of oil in nutritional and clinical research, providing approximately 200–700 mg GLA depending on preparation.
* Borage leaf infusion: historically prepared as a tea, but internal medicinal use of unprocessed aerial parts is not recommended because of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
* Fresh leaves: culinary quantities only; medicinal dosing is not established.
* Borage flower infusion: historically used as a beverage, but medicinal dosing is not well established and PA exposure remains a consideration.
**Safety factors (including side effects):**
* **Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are the principal safety concern.** Internal use of borage leaves, flowers, stems, or unprocessed seeds is potentially hepatotoxic.
* Borage seed oil should be obtained from a reputable manufacturer using a preparation certified or tested to be free of toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
* Borage should generally be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding because of PA toxicity concerns.
* Possible adverse effects of borage oil include gastrointestinal upset, nausea, loose stools, or headache.
* People with liver disease should avoid PA-containing borage preparations.
* Long-term internal use of unprocessed borage is inappropriate because pyrrolizidine-alkaloid toxicity can be cumulative and delayed.
* People taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet medication should exercise caution with concentrated borage oil because of possible effects on platelet function.
**First aid / adverse reaction response:**
* Suspected ingestion of a large quantity of borage containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids: seek poison-control or emergency medical advice promptly.
* Possible liver toxicity—abdominal pain, unusual fatigue, jaundice, dark urine, or abdominal swelling: discontinue use and obtain urgent medical assessment.
* Severe vomiting or diarrhea: discontinue use, maintain hydration if possible, and seek medical care if severe or persistent.
* Severe allergic reaction: seek emergency medical attention immediately.
**Drug interactions:**
* Borage seed oil may theoretically increase bleeding tendency when combined with anticoagulants or antiplatelet drugs.
* Theoretical interaction with medications affecting hepatic function is important because of the possibility of PA-related liver injury in contaminated preparations.
* Borage oil may have additive effects with other supplements affecting platelet aggregation.
* PA-free, properly processed seed oil has a substantially different safety profile from whole-plant borage, so the identity and processing of the preparation are important.
**Horticultural requirements:**
* USDA / Canadian zone: Annual; can be grown throughout much of Canada during the frost-free season; self-seeds readily in suitable climates.
* Soil pH: Approximately 6.0–7.5.
* Light requirements: Full sun to partial shade.
* Moisture: Moderate; prefers evenly moist, well-drained soil but tolerates some drought once established.
* Other notes (growth habit, harvest timing, etc.):
* **Growth habit:** Large, branching annual, commonly 60–100 cm tall.
* **Flowering/fruiting:** Blue, star-shaped flowers appear from late spring through summer; plants can continue flowering for an extended period.
* **Harvest timing:** Young leaves can be harvested before flowering; flowers are harvested as they open; seeds mature later in the season.
* **Habitat:** Gardens, disturbed ground, roadsides, field margins, and sunny open habitats.
* **Propagation/cultivation notes:** Easily grown from seed. Direct sowing is generally preferable because borage develops a substantial taproot. It readily self-seeds and may return annually where conditions permit.
**Sampling of clinical reports / studies:**
* Clinical studies of borage seed oil have investigated its GLA content in inflammatory and rheumatic conditions, although results have been inconsistent and do not establish borage oil as a proven treatment for these conditions.
* Pharmacological studies support anti-inflammatory effects associated with GLA-derived lipid mediators and phenolic constituents.
* Phytochemical research has characterized borage seed oil as particularly rich in GLA while documenting pyrrolizidine alkaloids in various plant tissues.
* Ethnobotanical and historical evidence strongly supports the longstanding European use of borage as a culinary, cordial, febrifuge, and “cheering” herb.
* **Overall assessment of evidence:** The best-supported modern application is the nutritional/pharmacological use of **PA-free borage seed oil as a source of GLA**. Evidence for treating specific diseases remains mixed. Whole-plant medicinal preparations deserve considerable caution because of pyrrolizidine-alkaloid hepatotoxicity.
Educational Use Only: The information presented on this page is provided for educational, historical, and informational purposes only. ArdNemeton na Tuatha and Bhùth Draoi do not provide medical advice. Always consult your physician and pharmacist before using any herb, mushroom, supplement, or botanical product for medicinal purposes. Traditional uses described herein do not constitute medical claims.