What Is Rose Hip Good for and Are There Side Effect Risks?

Rose hips are fleshy, red berries of the rose plant and they are rich in vitamins and may have benefits for your health. Rose hips help heal wounds, lower inflammation, help arthritis and have other benefits.

Rose hip is an edible fruit used as a popular ingredient in skincare products and supplements. People have used rose hips as medicine for a long time, and modern research shows it might have some benefits. 

Rose hips are fleshy, red berries of the rose plant found just under the blooms. They hold the plant's seeds and are ripe by the end of the summer or early fall. There are many rose species and varieties, but rose hips usually come from the dog rose known as Rosa canina. rose hips are sometimes also called rose haw or rose heps. 

People have used rose hips as food and medicine for centuries. The fruit is commonly made into jams, jellies, syrups, yogurt, alcoholic drinks, and steeped as herbal tea. Today, you can also buy rose hip extracts and supplements.

Rose hips are rich in vitamins and may have benefits for your health. There are quite a few studies on the effects of rose hip supplements, but some results are conflicting. More research is necessary. 

Rich in vitamin C

Vitamin C, or ascorbic acid, is essential for your skin, joints, bones, immune system, and nervous system. Your body needs it to make a protein called collagen, which is woven throughout these systems and tissues. 

Vitamin C helps heal wounds, neutralizes damaging unstable molecules called free radicals, and controls infections. Your body absorbs it easily but doesn’t store it well, so you need to get it regularly from your food. 

Rose hips are rich in vitamin C, but rose hip powders or extracts might not be. Vitamin C is water-soluble, which means it dissolves in water and is very sensitive to heat and light. High-heat cooking, drying, and processing breaks it down, so you lose much of the vitamin content. 

Vitamin C is soaked out of foods into the water during heating, which makes rose hip herbal tea a good source of vitamin C. You can steep fresh rose hips in a cup of boiling water for three to five minutes and then strain and drink. Fresh, raw rose hips are also likely a better source of vitamin C. 

Might lower inflammation

Rose hip might lower inflammation, but it’s unclear how it works. The fruit is rich in a compound called galactolipid, which is a fat with a sugar group attached. These compounds are naturally found in fruits and vegetables and can fight inflammation.

A lab-dish study compared dried rose hip powder extract and galactolipids from rose hip in mice cells. They found that high doses of both rose hip and galactolipids block chemicals that raise inflammation. But the experts say that while these fats might play a role in inflammation, the overall effect likely comes from a mixture of rose hip compounds.

Another older study found that rose hip extract lowered blood levels of an inflammation marker called C-reactive protein, or CRP, and white blood cells. Other studies found it has no effect, though. Patients took 10 grams of rose hip powder every day for four weeks, and there was no change in CRP levels.

Youthful skin

Rose hip powder can make your aging skin look younger. In a small clinical study, healthy, older patients randomly took rose hip powder, and others took an astaxanthin supplement. After eight weeks, the rose hip patients had improved skin elasticity, moisture content, and crow’s feet wrinkles.

Rose hip is also rich in a compound called quercetin that can help the skin. Researchers tested quercetin from rose hip on mouse skin cells and found that it blocked an enzyme that helps make skin pigment. The rose hip extract lowered pigment content without damaging the cell, suggesting it could help with skin brightening. 

Heart health

High cholesterol and fat levels in your blood can lead to plaque in your arteries. As plaque builds up, your arteries narrow and cause blood flow and blood pressure problems. This is called atherosclerosis. 

In animal studies, rose hip powder lowered blood pressure and total cholesterol levels. It also blocked plaque from growing or building up, suggesting rose hip might help improve heart health and prevent plaque.

May help arthritis

Rose hip is a popular supplement for joint problems and might help with pain and other symptoms. Some clinical trials suggest the seeds have healthy fats that can block cyclooxygenase enzymes. These enzymes lead to high inflammation, which leads to joint damage. With lower inflammation, rose hip extract might ease rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.

But other studies show the opposite. In a small study, patients with rheumatoid arthritis took 10 grams of rose hip powder for 28 days, but there was no change in blood inflammation markers or arthritis symptoms. So more research is necessary to know if or how rose hip can help arthritis.

Might help with weight and visceral fat loss

Visceral fat is found deep in your abdomen, wrapped around your organs. This fat releases hormones and chemicals that raise your cholesterol and blood fat levels and make it harder for your body to use insulin. This leads to a higher risk of heart disease.

Rose hip might help you lose visceral fat and weight. In a small study, patients with obesity took 100 milligrams of rose hip extract for 12 weeks with no changes to diet or exercise. Compared to the group who took a sugar pill, the rose hip group had significant weight loss and visceral fat loss. They also had a lower body fat percentage.

Rose hips from Rosa canina are safe to eat as food and likely to take as a supplement, even in higher doses. The most common side effects are digestive upset, including nausea, stomach cramps or pain, and diarrhea. 

Kidney stones

Theoretically, the high vitamin C content in rose hips could lead to kidney stones. Your body converts vitamin C to oxalate, and high doses can cause calcium oxalate stones. However, some animal studies show rose hips might help lower calcium oxalate content, which might help prevent kidney stones rather than cause them. 

Drug interactions

Rose hip supplements might interact with some medications, like blood thinners, estrogens, cancer drugs, and lithium. If you take any medications, talk to your doctor before you take rose hip supplements.

Rose hips are nutritious fruit with high vitamin C content. People often take rose hip extracts and powders for joint problems and other uses, and they might be helpful, though more information is necessary. These supplements are likely safe to take but talk to your doctor first.