Botanical Name: Juglans regia Common name: Walnut Plant f Read More
|
Botanical Name: |
Juglans regia |
|
Common name: |
Walnut |
|
Plant
family: |
Juglandaceae |
|
Genus: |
Juglans |
|
Appearance/Color: |
Colorless
or yellowish. |
|
Origin |
USA |
|
Source |
Nut |
|
Method
of Extraction |
Cold Pressed |
Walnuts (Juglans regia L.) are lauded
for their health benefits as a rich source of unsaturated fats, protein,
dietary fiber, phytochemicals, and micronutrients. Cultivated throughout every
continent on Earth, it is no surprise that they have various uses in the food
industry. Walnuts are eaten as snacks and can be added to breakfast cereals,
baked goods, salads, pastas, and soups. Thus, it is considered the number one
consumer nut purchased from supermarket shelves worldwide.
Walnut is an edible seed of a drupe and
commonly consumed as a nut. Recently, walnuts have gained much importance due
to their oil, which contains high-value fatty acids. Walnut oil is a rich
source of unsaturated fatty acids that are essential and needs to be taken for
good health. The oil is also an impressive source of vitamin E and
phytosterols, which possess functional food/nutraceutical features. The major
component of the oil is linoleic acid followed by oleic acid and linolenic
acid. Walnut oil, due to the richness of its nutraceuticals, is useful to
reduce the incidence of some health disorders such as diabetes, coronary heart
diseases, and cancer. Furthermore, walnut oil is used as a component of dry
skin creams, in antiwrinkle and antiaging products, because it holds
moisturizing and antioxidant properties. Cold pressing is a mechanical way to
obtain the oil from nuts without using an organic solvent; hence this process
is usually used to extract high-quality food-grade oil. Cold pressed oils are appreciated
due to their superior nutritional and nutraceutical properties. This chapter is
mainly framed to present the bioactives, nutritional, and nutraceuticals
profile of cold pressed walnut oil with regard to exploring its potential food
science, cosmeceutical, and nutra-pharmaceutical applications.
Essential oils are distilled from
the aromatic leaves, bark, and roots of plants. If applied to the skin
directly, they can cause reactions, such as severe irritation, redness or
burning.
Carrier oils and essential oils
are made from plants. Carrier oils are used to dilute essential oils and
“carry” them to skin. That’s because essential oils are potent and can cause
irritation when applied directly to skin. Most carrier oils are unscented or
lightly scented and don’t interfere with an essential oil’s therapeutic
properties. They may be used alone or with other oils to nourish skin.
Carrier oils are used to dilute
the essential oils and help “carry” them into the skin. Aloe vera gels and
unscented body lotion are also sometimes used as carriers.
To be used in aromatherapy, it is
recommended that the oil is obtained through cold pressing. In this process,
the oil is extracted by crushing the plants. Users claim that the fragile
nutrients in the oil can be damaged if they are extracted with heat.
Venkatramna’s carrier Oils are extracted from the Cold Pressed method to retain
their properties.
Common Usage: Aromatherapy
TOXICOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Benzaldehyde may be used as an adulterant of, or a
complete substitute for bitter almond oil (Burfield 2003). Benzaldehyde is
susceptible to autoxidation.
Safety
summary
·
Hazards: none known
·
Cautions: old or oxidized oils should be avoided.
·
Maximum
adult daily oral dose: 357 mg
Safety Advice
Maximum oral dose is based on 98% benzaldehyde and a
benzaldehyde limit of 5 mg/kg/day. Oxidation of bitter almond oil should be
avoided by storage in a dark, airtight container in a refrigerator. The
addition of an antioxidant to preparations containing it is recommended to
preparations containing it is recommended.
Organ-
specific effects
·
Adverse
skin reactions: undiluted
bitter almond oil FFPA produced hyperkeratosis and dry desquamation when
applied to mice or pigs; tested at 4% on 25 volunteers, the oil was neither irritating
nor sensitizing. It is non-phototoxic.
Systemic
effects
·
Acute
toxicity: bitter
almond oil FFPA acute oral LD50 in rats 1.49 mL/kg; acute dermal LD50 in
rabbits>3 g/kg.
·
Carcinogenic/
anticarcinogenic potential: Not
Carcinogenic
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATION
·
Ecotoxicity: No data available
·
Bioaccumulation: No data available
·
Mobility in soil: No data available
·
Persistence and degradability: No data available
·
PBT and vPvB assessment: No data available
