Sunflower Oil
Sunflower is used as vegetable oil for cooking purpose in the world. The sunflower oil is obtained from sunflower seed which contain about 48 – 53 percent edible oil. It is premium as compared to other types of vegetable oil. It is light yellow in color.
Sunflower Oil Benefits
- Possesses good flavour and high smoke point.
- The oil is also used for manufacturing hydrogenated oil.
- Sunflower is also a source of tocopherol, furfural and lecithin. It is used as nutritious meal for birds and animals.
- It is also used in the pharmaceuticals industries and different cosmetics.
Why sunflower oil is benefits to heart patients?
- High level of linoleic acid and absence of linolenic acid.
- Sunflower oil is a rich source (64 percent) of linoleic acid which is good for heart patients. Linoleic acid helps in washing out cholesterol deposition in the coronary arteries of the heart.
Uses of Sunflower Oil
Edible oil
- It is used as edible oil.
- The sunflower seed oil used in resins, plastics, soaps and drying agents.
Animal feed
- Sunflower consists of high in protein and is an important feed ingredient for livestock and poultry, particularly beef cattle and calves.
Hull
- A byproduct from processing (particularly confectionary seeds).
- Hull of sunflower is high-energy content. Generally, ground and pelleted and used as an animal feed ingredient for beef cattle, poultry, dairy cattle.
- Hull is also used in industrial products like fertilizer, fiberboard. Hulls are used for fuel also.
Bird feed
- The sunflower seeds which are black in color, favourite for seed eating birds.
- The sunflower seed is used as bird feed in the United States of America. The sun flower seed which are high oil contents provides source of energy to birds.
Functional food
- Sunflower seeds are used as a functional food (Certain food that provides health benefit beyond basic nutrition and reduce the risk of disease or other health concerns are known as functional food).
- Use of sunflower products is seen a big improvement in the overall nutritional quality of diet.
Sunflower kernels
- Sunflower seed is consumed as a snack food called confectionery sunflower.
- Kernel is used in a broad array of snack and food product. Hulled sunflower or, kernels are used in a wide variety of food products such as an ingredient in bread or in grail mixes of nuts and dried fruit
Medicinal
- Sunflower seeds have diuretic and expectorant properties and are beneficial in the treatment of bronchial, laryngeal and pulmonary affections.
- The sunflower seed improves the eyes, ameliorates the conditions of skin, reduces cavities in the teeth, stop pink tooth brush and aids quivering eyes.
- The sunflower removes the unpleasant coating on the tongue, is good for nerves, relieves soreness in the muscles, and eliminates that tired feeling.
Sunflower seed
- The composition of sunflower seed is given in the table
Constituent |
Composition in Percentage |
Hull |
21 – 27 |
Oil |
48 – 53 |
Protein |
14 – 19 |
Soluble sugar |
7 – 9 |
Crude fiber |
16 – 27 |
Ash |
2 – 3 |

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