Sunflower oil is the non-volatile oil compressed from the seeds
of sunflower. Sunflower oil is commonly used in food as a frying
oil, and in cosmetic formulations as an emollient. The world's
total production of sunflower oil in ***4 was nearly *6 million
tonnes, with Ukraine and Russia as the largest producers.
Sunflower oil is a monounsaturated /polyunsaturated mixture of
mostly oleic acid (omega*9)-linoleic acid (omega*6) group of
oils. The oil content of the seed ranges from *2% to *6%
(average, *8%): the kernel contains ***5% oil. The expressed oil
is of light amber color with a mild and pleasant flavor; refined
oil is pale yellow. Refining losses are low and the oil has good
keeping qualities with light tendency for flavor reversion. The
oil contains appreciable quantities of vitamin E, sterols,
squalene, and other aliphatic hydrocarbons.
In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for
sunflower crops such as sunflower oil. Measures such as the
development of hybrid sunflowers to increase oil production have
been introduced to meet this demand.
