Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a very branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant. It is readily cultivated for veggie oil drawn out from the seeds. Plants are 30 to 150 cm (12 to 59 in) high with globular blossom heads having yellow, orange, or red flowers. Each branch will typically have from one to five blossom heads having 15 to 20 seeds each head. Safflower is native to arid settings having seasonal rain. It expands a deep taproot which allows it to grow in such environments.
History
Safflower is one of mankind’s earliest plants. Chemical evaluation of old Egyptian textiles dated to the Twelfth dynasty identified dyes made from safflower, as well as garlands made from safflowers were found in the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun. John Chadwick reports that the Greek name for safflower???????? (k?rthamos) occurs sometimes in Straight B tablets, identified into 2 kinds: a white safflower (ka-na-ko re-u-ka, ‘kn?kos leuk?’), which is gauged, and also red (ka-na-ko e-ru-ta-ra, ‘kn?kos eruthr?’) which is evaluated. ‘The explanation is that there are 2 components of the plant which can be used, the light seeds and also the red florets.’
Safflower was additionally referred to as carthamine in the 19th century.
Production
It is a small crop today, with regarding 600,000 heaps being generated readily in more compared to sixty countries worldwide. India, USA, and also Mexico are the leading producers, with Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, China, the Arab World, Argentina and also Australia bookkeeping for the majority of the remainder.
Other names include Sallflower, Beni, Chimichanga, or Carthamus tinctorius and also in Pashto it is called Kareza (as it is located abundantly in Afghanistan and also Tribal belts of Pakistan).
Uses
Traditionally, the plant was grown for its seeds, as well as made use of for coloring as well as flavoring foods, in medicines, as well as making red (carthamin) as well as yellow dyes, specifically before less expensive aniline dyes appeared. For the last fifty years or two, the plant has actually been grown primarily for the grease extracted from its seeds.
Seed
Safflower seed oil is flavorless as well as anemic, as well as nutritionally just like sunflower oil. It is made use of primarily in cosmetics and also as a cooking oil, in salad dressing, and for the production of margarine. It might likewise be taken as a dietary supplement. INCI language is Carthamus tinctorius.
Safflower seed is also used rather commonly as an option to sunflower seed in birdfeeders, as squirrels do not such as the taste of it.
Oil
There are two types of safflower that create various sort of oil: one high in monounsaturated fatty acid (oleic acid) and the other high in polyunsaturated fat (linoleic acid). Presently the primary edible oil market is for the former, which is reduced in saturates compared to olive oil, for instance. The latter is used in painting in the area of linseed oil, especially with white paints, as it does not have the yellow color which linseed oil possesses.
In nutritional usage, high-linoleic Safflower Oil has also been shown to boost adiponectin, a healthy protein that helps manage blood sugar degrees and also fatty-acid breakdown. Throughout a 16-week, double-blind controlled research conducted at The Ohio State University, researchers contrasted high-linoleic safflower oil (SAF) with conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). They researched post-menopausal females who had high blood sugar level and wanted to drop weight. These individuals revealed an ordinary reduction of 6.3 percent stubborn belly fat and also approximately 20.3 percent rise in the essential tummy fat hormone, adiponectin.
Hornstra et alia analyzed a group where safflower oil changed animal fats in the diets of people that had had a heart strike. The team receiving extra safflower oil instead of animal fats had a significantly higher risk of fatality from all causes, cardiovascular condition and also coronary heart disease. As expected, boosting omega-6 linoleic acid from safflower oil in the Sydney Diet plan Heart Study substantially minimized complete cholesterol, nonetheless, these decreases were not connected with [lowered] death results. The raised danger of fatality in the intervention team offered rather rapidly and also continued throughout the test. An updated meta-analysis of polyunsaturated fat treatment tests revealed patterns toward boosted dangers of death from coronary heart problem and cardio condition from increasing omega-6 linoleic acid intakes suggesting that the cardiovascular advantages of polyunsaturated fats might be attributable to omega-3 polyunsaturated fats.
In culinary usage, safflower oil compares positively with other veggie oils with its high smoke point.
Flower
Safflower flowers are occasionally used in cooking as a more affordable alternative to saffron, and were sometimes described as ‘bastard saffron’.
In coloring fabrics, safflower’s dried flowers are utilized as a natural textile color. The pigment in safflower is the benzoquinone-derived chemical carthamin as well as it is classified as a quinone-type color. It is a straight dye which is likewise referred to as CI Natural Red 26. Yellow, mustard, khaki, and also olive are one of the most usual colors in textiles. Also intense reds as well as purples could be reached using alkaline handling. Indians utilized this red color as their main red tape on legal documents. All hydrophilic fibers (100% natural fibers, such as cotton, woollen, and so on) could be dyed with this plant. Polyamide textiles could additionally be colored without a mordant representative since of its wool-like chemical structure. Polyester, polyacrylonitrile, and others which are hydrophobic synthetic fibers can be colored just in the visibility of a mordant.
Safflower concentrate is a component of the carbonated soft drink Tizer as well as some sorts of Sunkist.
Ancient Egyptians discovered the blossom pleasing to the eye as well as included it in garlands placed on mommies. Dried out safflower blossoms (??? honglanhua,??? caohonghua,??? cihonghua) are utilized in conventional Chinese medicine to minimize pain, increase circulation, and minimize bruising. They are consisted of in organic treatments for menstruation pain and small physical injury. In India, the flowers are used for their laxative as well as diaphoretic residential properties, and are additionally utilized for youngsters’s complaints of measles, high temperatures as well as eruptive skin conditions.
Transgenics
The obsolete pharmaceutical firm SemBioSys Genes aimed to utilize transgenic safflower plants to produce human insulin as the global need for the hormone expands. Safflower-derived human insulin was in the PI/II trials on human test subjects.
