Introduction
Sunflower oil is nonvolatile oil obtained from sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus L.; family Asteraceae). The sunflower seed, consumed worldwide as a snack or as an ingredient in bread, baked goods, or muesli bars, as well as added to mixes of nuts or fruits (1). Sunflower oil side effects and benefits are as follows.
This flower is grown well in most regions of the world like Europe, America, Asia, and Australia for many years and ranked 4th position at world level as a source of vegetable oil after palm, soybean, cottonseed, groundnut, and canola.
Benefits of sunflower seeds
Sunflower seed is an excellent source of healthy unsaturated fats, protein, fiber, and other important nutrients like vitamin E, selenium, copper, zinc, folate, iron, and phytochemicals.
The seeds of sunflowers are good for the nerves, brain, and eyes and for general health.
Refined sunflower oil is yellow in color with a mild flavor and commonly used as a salad, cooking recipes, as well as for frying. Furthermore, sunflower oil has a very low melting point which is beneficial to use as sauces and emulsions that have to be kept cold (2).
Nutritional value of sunflower oil
Different types of sunflower oil are available in the market like high linoleic, high oleic, and mid oleic. It is highly nutritious with a clean taste, low levels of trans fat constituted of saturated fatty acids (11%), monounsaturated fatty acids (20%), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (69%) (3). On the other hand, it also contains essential vitamin E, vitamin K, lecithin, tocopherols, carotenoids, and waxes (4).
| Compound | Amounts/ 100 g. |
| Water | 0 g |
| Energy | 884 kcal |
| Protein | 0 g |
| Total lipid (Fat)s | 100 g |
| Carbohydrates | 0 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 0 g |
| Minerals | |
| Calcium | 0 mg |
| Iron | 0 mg |
| Magnesium | 0 mg |
| Phosphorous | 0 mg |
| Potassium | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 0 mg |
| Zinc | 0 mg |
| Vitamins | |
| Folates | 0 µg |
| Niacin | 0 mg |
| Riboflavin | 0 mg |
| Thiamin | 0 mg |
| Vitamin A | 0 IU |
| Vitamin C | 0 mg |
| Vitamin E | 41.08 mg |
| Vitamin K | 5.4 µg |
| Fatty acids, total saturated | 10.100 g |
| Fatty acids, total monounsaturated | 45.400 g |
| Fatty acids, total polyunsaturated | 40.100 g |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg |
Health benefits of sunflower oil
1. Sunflower oil is low in cholesterol
Sunflower oil contains unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid which is capable of lowering triacylglycerides and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. It also increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and thereby lowers the risk of heart attack (5).
2. Good for glowing skin
Sunflower oil is a rich source of oleic and linoleic acids than olive oil. Which possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on the skin like improve skin hydration, enhances skin barrier repair, and healing of wounds.
Moreover, sunflower oil is beneficial for the treatment of dermatitis, dry skin, and scaly skin, wrinkling, aging defects. Therefore, sunflower oil can be used as a therapeutic and cosmetic agent for skin treatment (6).
3. Prevents cancer
Antioxidant selenium present in sunflower oil neutralizes free radicals, inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis (7).
4. Sunflower oil is good for the heart
Vitamin E in oil acts as an anti-atherosclerotic agent which blocks thrombosis at sites of vascular injury. Thus inhibit pathologic platelet vascular interactions associated with atherosclerosis and protect from reactive oxygen species. Therefore consumption of these antioxidants reduces the risk of heart and atherosclerosis disease (8).
5. Immune booster property of sunflower oil
Sunflower oil contains an adequate amount of essential fatty acids such as linoleic acid and vitamin E which is essential for the maintenance of the immune response. Sunflower oil can be a good choice to be included in a diet (9).
6. Good for oral health
Sunflower oil is very beneficial for pulling bacteria, viruses, and protozoa from the oral cavity and reduce plaque-induced gingivitis by oil pulling. It also possesses antibacterial activity against Candida albicans. Therefore, oil pulling by sunflower oil is very useful for oral hygiene aid (10).
7. Sunflower oil helps in the prevention of inflammation
Sunflower oil improves antioxidant defense systems and prevents gastric damage caused by Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as indomethacin.
Therefore, consumption of sunflower oil with indomethacin as well as other NSAIDs does not have any adverse effect on the gastrointestinal tract and prevents inflammation (11).
8. Ozonized sunflower oil Treat onychomycosis
Ozonized sunflower oil may be helpful to treat onychomycosis which is a fungal infection of nails infected one in three diabetics patients, leads to increased risk for other foot disorders and even limb amputations.
Thus sunflower ozonized oil is a novel and promising alternative therapy against fungal strains such as Candida parapsilosis, Candida albicans, Trichosporon asahii, Candida tropicalis, and Candida guilliermondii (12).
Sunflower oil side effects
Although sunflower oil is good for reducing cholesterol and inflammation of the body. But besides this sunflower oil side effects are as follows.
1. Sunflower oil is not good for pregnant and lactating mothers
Sunflower oil consumption seems to conserve breast-milk retinol which is the source of Vitamin A which is good for infant health (13).
However, too much intake of omega-6-rich oils found in sunflower is shown an adverse effect because they are converted to substrates that compete with EPA. Therefore you should avoid excessive consumption of sunflower oil in this condition (14).
2. Should not use sunflower oil as a hair oil
Sunflower oil is used by people because of its non-freezing property and its odorless ness at ambient temperature.
However, sunflower oil does not help at all in reducing the protein loss from hair because it contains linoleic acid (bulky structure due to double bond) which does not penetrate the fiber, consequently resulting in no favorable impact on protein loss (15).
3. Risk of lipid peroxidation
One of the sunflower oil side effects is it contains highly unsaturated fatty acids. Which reduces antioxidants and produces toxic compounds in the oils after frying.
Thus, sunflower oil is less resistant to oxidative stress produced by frying and led to a higher degree of lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes (16).
4. The risk for diabetic patient
A research study suggested that when sunflower oil consumed by a high-fat diet individual it did not improve or even worsened the inflammatory state and insulin resistance induced by this diet (17).
5. Risk of Asthma
Sunflower contains Omega-6 fatty acids which change the membrane fluidity of neutrophils and reduce the production of proinflammatory cytokines thus increase the risk of inflammatory conditions and allergic diseases, including asthma in humans and animals (18).
Edited By: Dr. Asha Jyoti Bharati