AuroraRed®

The Most Nutrient-Dense Rose Hips in the World

In the pristine wilderness of Alaska there grow flowering shrubs with small pink flowers known as the Arctic prickly and Nootka roses. They are the most abundant of the rose species in Alaska, and when flowering, they also produce a small scarlet fruit called the rose hip. These fruits have been an important source of food and medicine for Alaska Native peoples for thousands of years.

AuroraRed® is a proprietary blend of whole rose hips (including the fleshy outer portion of hypanthium, along with seeds, sepals, and base) hand-gathered and dried by Refractance Window® drying technology), which preserves their bioactive constituents.

Which rose species are in AuroraRed®?

  • Rosa acicularis Lindl. and subspecies (Arctic prickly rose)
  • Rosa nutkana C. Presl. and subspecies (Nootka rose)
  • Rosa rugosa Thunb. (rugose rose)
  • Rosa woodsii Lindl. (Woods’ rose)

Not your average rose hips

Rose hips are widely recognized as an excellent source of natural vitamin C, but they also provide significant quantities of beneficial phytonutrients, particularly flavan-3-ols, or catechins. Due to the severe growing conditions of the Alaska wilderness, AuroraRed® delivers the most nutrient-dense rose hips in the world, providing:

  • Most known catechins — including epicatechins, gallocatechins, and catechin gallates — except epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is found primarily in tea
  • 8 to 10 times more flavonoids than commercially dried rose hips from other parts of the world
  • Levels of quercetin and ellagic acid that have been measured at ten times those of the European Dog Rose, the industry gold standard

AuroraRed® packs an impressive nutritional punch, with:

  • 16% flavonoids
  • 6% lycopene and carotenoids
  • Approximately 20% DRI for vitamin C
  • An ORAC value of > 1400

Importantly, AuroraRed® is a whole fruit concentrate — not an extract. That means all the active ingredients remain intact in their proper ratios.

Health Benefits

Because of their exceptional vitamin C and flavonoid content — a powerful, health-promoting combination when presented by Nature — rose hips are primarily used for immune support. However, several reviews of placebo-controlled human clinical trials suggest they may also promote a healthy inflammation response [tooltip tip=”Rossnagel K, Willich SN. “Value of complementary medicine exemplified by rose-hips” (in German). Gesundheitswesen. 2001; 63:412-416.”]22[/tooltip], [tooltip tip=”Chrubasik C, et al. “The evidence for clinical efficacy of rose hip and seed: a systematic review.” Phytother Res. 2006 Jan; 20(1):1-3.”]23[/tooltip], [tooltip tip=”Rossnagel K, Roll S, Willich SN. “The clinical effectiveness of rosehip powder in patients with osteoarthritis (a systematic review).” MMW Fortschr Med. 2007; 149:51-56.”]24[/tooltip], [tooltip tip=”Christensen R, et al. “Does the hip powder of Rosa canina (rosehip) reduce pain in osteoarthritis patients?—a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2008 Sep; 16(9):965-72.”]25[/tooltip].

Further, Alaska Rosa species have specifically been observed to:

  • Show activity against several types of foreign invaders in vitro [tooltip tip=”Jovel EM, et al. “Bioactivity-guided isolation of the active compounds from Rosa nutkana and quantitative analysis of ascorbic acid by HPLC.” Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 2007 Sep;85(9):865-71.”]26[/tooltip], [tooltip tip=”McCutcheon AR, et al. “Antiviral screening of British Columbian medicinal plants.” J Ethnopharmacol. 1995 Dec 1;49(2):101-10.”]27[/tooltip], [tooltip tip=”Kashiwada Y, et al. “Anti-AIDS agents. 30. Anti-HIV activity of oleanolic acid, pomolic acid, and structurally related triterpenoids.” J Nat Prod. 1998 Sep;61(9):1090-5.”]28[/tooltip]
  • Exhibit strong antioxidant activity in vitro [tooltip tip=”Yi O, et al. “Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of native Rosa sp. from British Columbia, Canada.” Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2007 May;58(3):178-89.”]29[/tooltip]

Organoleptic Profile

AuroraRed® has a mild flavor and neutral color that makes it especially easy to mix with other ingredients, enabling you to add fruit phytonutrients to your formulations without changing their color or taste.