{
  "slug": "evening-primrose-oil",
  "name": "Evening Primrose Oil (GLA)",
  "alternate_names": [
    "Evening Primrose Oil",
    "EPO",
    "Oenothera biennis seed oil",
    "GLA oil",
    "Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) source oil"
  ],
  "mechanism": [
    "Supplies preformed gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), bypassing the rate-limiting delta-6-desaturase step in the n-6 fatty-acid pathway (research-context mechanism)",
    "GLA is elongated to dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA), a precursor for series-1 prostaglandins (e.g. PGE1) studied for their role in inflammatory signaling",
    "Seed oil is also rich in linoleic acid (~70%) plus minor phenolics, tocopherols and phytosterols characterized in compositional reviews"
  ],
  "target": [
    "Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA)",
    "Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA)",
    "Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1)",
    "Delta-6-desaturase (FADS2) pathway"
  ],
  "use_case": [
    "skin health / atopic eczema (research-context · pooled trials show no benefit over placebo)",
    "inflammatory-response support (research-context · heterogeneous evidence)",
    "GLA / essential-fatty-acid nutritional support (educational context)"
  ],
  "body_system": [
    "SKIN",
    "IMMUNE",
    "REPRO"
  ],
  "evidence_tier": "B",
  "evidence_anchor_pmid_count": 3,
  "dosage_range": "1-4 g/day of evening primrose oil (delivering roughly 80-320 mg GLA at 7-10% GLA content) over 4-12 weeks in clinical trials; 1-3 g/day is the common marketed range. Educational reference, not a dosing recommendation.",
  "safety_notes": "Generally well tolerated with a long history of dietary use; the most common adverse effects in trials are occasional headache and mild gastrointestinal upset. Caution flags: case reports suggest EPO may lower the seizure threshold, so individuals with epilepsy should use it cautiously; GLA-rich oils may add to bleeding/antiplatelet effects, so discontinue before surgery and use care with anticoagulants. Pregnancy/obstetric use (e.g. for cervical ripening) is a clinical, not supplement, context and not supported. Educational information, not medical advice.",
  "regulatory": {
    "fda": "DSHEA-legal dietary supplement ingredient (women's-health / skin category); marketed with structure/function claims only — no FDA-authorized health claim for EPO",
    "efsa": "Permitted food-supplement ingredient in the EU; ZERO EFSA-authorized health claims for evening primrose oil / GLA (only neutral compositional description permitted)",
    "anvisa": "Permitted food-supplement ingredient in Brazil under the RDC 243/2018 / IN 28/2018 framework; no standalone authorized functional claim"
  },
  "authorized_claims": [],
  "ingredient_hub_url": "https://asxan.ai/ingredients/evening-primrose-oil/",
  "related_goal_slugs": [
    "menopause-support",
    "skin-beauty"
  ],
  "related_lifestyle_slugs": [
    "menopause"
  ],
  "last_evidence_review": "2026-06-13",
  "schema_version": "nc-public-v0.2",
  "api_version": "nc-public-v0.3",
  "_meta": {
    "last_evidence_review": "2026-06-13",
    "ip_axes_disclosed": {
      "public_axes": [
        "mechanism",
        "target",
        "use_case",
        "body_system",
        "evidence_tier",
        "dosage_range",
        "safety_notes",
        "regulatory",
        "authorized_claims"
      ],
      "ip_axes_not_exposed": [
        "proprietary_formula_ratios",
        "clinical_protocol_internals",
        "rnd_pipeline_compounds",
        "supplier_specific_grade_specifications",
        "unpublished_endpoint_data"
      ],
      "rationale": "asxan.ai surfaces the educational, evidence-tier-disclosed slice. Formula composition, clinical-protocol internals, and RnD pipeline data are intentionally outside this public surface."
    }
  }
}