- Tea seed oil
Tea seed oil (also known as tea oil or camellia oil) is an edible, pale amber-green
fixed oil with a sweet, herbalaroma . It is cold-pressed mainly from theseed s of "Camellia oleifera " but also from "Camellia sinensis " or "Camellia japonica ".With its high
smoke point (485° F.), tea seed oil is the maincooking oil in some of the southern provinces of China, such asHunan —roughly one-seventh of the country's population.In Japan tea seed oil is derived from "Camellia japonica", mainly fromGotō Islands ofNagasaki Prefecture andIzu Islands ofTokyo Prefecture .Tea seed oil resembles
olive oil andgrape seed oil in its excellent storage qualities and low content ofsaturated fat .Monounsaturated oleic acid may comprise up to 88% of thefatty acid s. It is high invitamin E and otherantioxidant s and like all unprocessed vegetable oils, contains no naturaltrans fats .In addition to its use in salad dressings, dips, marinades and
sauce s, forsautéing ,stir frying andfrying and inmargarine production, tea seed oil is used to manufacturesoap , hair oil,lubricant s,paint and a rustproofing oil as well as in synthesis of other high molecular weight compounds. Japanese tea seed oil is used for setting the hair ofSumo wrestlers and fortempura .Tea seed oil should not be confused with
tea tree oil (melaleuca oil) , an essential oil extracted from the leaves of thepaperbark "Melaleuca alternifolia " and used for medicinal purposes.External links
* cite book
author = Ruter, John M.
year = 2002
chapter = Nursery production of tea oil camellia under different light
chapterurl = http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-222.html
editor = J.Janick and A.Whipkey (eds.)
title = Trends in new crops and new uses
pages = pp. 222-224
location= Alexandria, VA | publisher=American Society for Horticultural Science Press
id = OCLC|51677926
* [http://www.emerald-harvest.com/tea-seed-oil/why-tea-seed-oil.htm Benefits of Tea Seed Oil]
* [http://www.victani.com/ Natural Camellia Oil Products for skincare.]
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