Evening primrose oil was long promoted by Horrobin in England.  He died in 2002.  The research evidence that the oil is of any benefit for any condition appears very slim.  It is similar to borage oil.

Evening Primrose Not Help Atopic: DC 58 kids atopic dermatitis 16 week Epogam evening primrose. 22 with asthma. No benefit. Arch Dis Child 12/96, Sweden. Same result with 24 week DB 600 mg/d GLA in South Africa, Dermatology ’96;193:115-20. Same result with both Primrose and fish oil in 16 wk 123 pt study in UK in Lancet 6/19/93;341:1557-60. Some benefit found in Drugs Exp Clin Res ’94;20:77-84 in U Bologna.

Evening Primrose: Some encourage for schiz, childhood hyperactivity, and dementia but no scientific evidence or cultural tradition of these. Has gamma linolenic acid 8%. Rx 6-8g/d divided doses. Relatively safe tho has exacerbated epilepsy and may interact adversely with phenothiazines, and beta blockers, and anti-coagulants. Wong.

Evening Prim+Fish Oil Not Help Psoriasis-RA: DB 12 caps Efamol Marine 9 mo. No decrease in NSAID requirement or other measures of illness. DJ Veale, Dundee, Br J Rheum 10/94;33:954-8

Evening Prim+Fish Oil No Benefit Psoriasis: 37 patient DB no benefit. UK, Clin Exp Derm 3/94;19:127-9

Evening+Fish Oil Some Benefit pre-eclapsia: 13% lower incidence of edema. Mg Oxide helped HBP. 3 cases of eclampsia, all in placebo group. Women Health ’92;19:117-31

Evening No Better than Olive Oil for RA: DB540/d GLA 40 pt 6 mo. Glasgow, Br J Rheumatol 10/91 Brzeski

Evening No Benefit PMS: 38 patient DB placebo crossed-over after three cycles. SK Khoo, U Queensland, Med J Aust 8/20/90;153:189-92

Evening Helps PMS According to Horrobin: In review, Horrobin claims 3 DB and two large open studies all found evening primrose to be of dramatic benefit. J Reprod Med ’83;28:465

Evening No Benefit Liver CA: Primary Liver CA DB no different in survival time or liver size. Higher dose needs researching. U Southern Africa. Prostag Leuk EFA 7/90;40:199-202

Evening Not Help Recurrent Breast Cyst: 200 with aspiration DB 6 caps /d 1 yr. Non-significant, slight difference favoring evening. Mansel, Cardiff, Ann NY Acad Sci ’90;586:288-94

Evening Prim No Benefit Menopause: 56 DB 2g/d 6 mo. Only change was a decrease in night time flushes. BMJ 2/19/94;308-501-3