Sunflower Oil (redirected from Sunflower seed oil)

sunflower oil [′sən‚flau̇·ər ‚ȯil]

(materials)

A combustible, pale-yellow, semidrying oil with a pleasant scent, expressed from the seeds of the common sunflower; soluble in alcohol, ether, and carbon disulfide; consists mostly of mixed triglycerides of fatty acids; used for resins, soaps, edible oils, and margarines.

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Sunflower Oil 

a vegetable oil obtained from sunflower seeds. Crude sunflower oil has a pleasant flavor. Its density at 10°C is 920–927 kg per cu m; its solidification point is –16° to –19°C; its kinematic viscosity at 20°C is 60.6 10^–6 sq m per sec.

The fatty-acid composition by percentage of sunflower oil is stearic, 1.6–4.6; palmitic, 3.5-6.4; myristic, less than 0.1; ara-chidic, 0.7-0.9; oleic, 24–40; linoleic, 46-62; and linolenic, less than 1. The average molecular weight of the fatty acids is 275–286. The content of phosphatides, tocopherols, and waxes depends on the method used to extract and process the oil and varies widely. The iodine value is 119–136, and the hydroxyl value is 2–10.6.

Sunflower oil is one of the most important vegetable oils and is very important for the national economy. It is primarily used directly as food. Margarine and cooking fats are also made from it by hydrogenation. It is used in canning and in soaps and paints. Sunflower oil is included in various ointments, for example, volatile ointment.