Rosa roxburghii ()
Answered by: Conrad Richter
Question from: Jean Markham
Posted on: March 21, 2002

Do you sell or plan to sell the herb called Rosa roxburghii?

It is also called cili bao, burr rose, and chestnut rose. I am interested in purchasing it.

I understand it is extremely high in the naturally occurring superoxide dismutase (SOD) having somewhere upwards of 200,000 IU per 100 grams of the fruit. I can purchase the product from several companies, but I prefer to get things as natural as possible, if I can.

Chestnut rose (Rosa roxburghii) is a Chinese wild rose that appears to have potent antioxidant properties, probably due to the high superoxide dismutase content of the fruits. There are several scientific reports on Medline that deal with its possible role in retarding the aging process.

By the way, it is called the chestnut rose because the fruits are very prickly, "like a small chestnut," according to Gerd Kruessmann in his "Complete Book of Roses" (Timber Press, 1981).

We do not have a source for the seeds or plants of this herb however, because of its potential significance as anti-aging and anticancer herb, we are looking for it. If we are successful in finding we will likely offer it in a future catalogue.

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