Chapter 17
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) Seed
Misbah Nazir, Sania Arif, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Nauman Khalid
Abstract Safflower is the oldest cultivated crop, typically grown at a small-scale
level. Each part of this crop has multiple uses ranging from oil, foods, flavors,
coloring agents, dyes, and medicinal benefits. Safflower crop can tolerate salinity
and drought effectively. Various techniques are used to harvest the oil ranging from
mechanical to supercritical fluid extraction; the extracted oil is rich in oleic and
linoleic acids. The functional attributes of safflower include treatment of atherosclerosis, menopause, skin infections, and bone-related disorders. Recently, safflower oil
is used to encapsulate sensitive bioactive compounds for nutrients delivery systems.
This chapter highlights safflower chemical characteristics in combination with health
benefits.
Keywords Safflower oil · Nutrients · Fatty acids · Health benefits · Extraction
methods · Stability profile
M. Nazir
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Sciences and
Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
S. Arif
Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
I. Ahmed
National Culture Collection of Pakistan (NCCP), Bioresources Conservation Institute (BCI),
National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan
N. Khalid (*)
School of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Management and Technology, Lahore,
Pakistan
e-mail: nauman.khalid@umt.edu.pk
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. Tanwar, A. Goyal (eds.), Oilseeds: Health Attributes and Food Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4194-0_17
427
Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) Seed
Misbah Nazir, Sania Arif, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Nauman Khalid
Abstract Safflower is the oldest cultivated crop, typically grown at a small-scale
level. Each part of this crop has multiple uses ranging from oil, foods, flavors,
coloring agents, dyes, and medicinal benefits. Safflower crop can tolerate salinity
and drought effectively. Various techniques are used to harvest the oil ranging from
mechanical to supercritical fluid extraction; the extracted oil is rich in oleic and
linoleic acids. The functional attributes of safflower include treatment of atherosclerosis, menopause, skin infections, and bone-related disorders. Recently, safflower oil
is used to encapsulate sensitive bioactive compounds for nutrients delivery systems.
This chapter highlights safflower chemical characteristics in combination with health
benefits.
Keywords Safflower oil · Nutrients · Fatty acids · Health benefits · Extraction
methods · Stability profile
M. Nazir
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, National University of Sciences and
Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
S. Arif
Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
I. Ahmed
National Culture Collection of Pakistan (NCCP), Bioresources Conservation Institute (BCI),
National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan
N. Khalid (*)
School of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Management and Technology, Lahore,
Pakistan
e-mail: nauman.khalid@umt.edu.pk
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
B. Tanwar, A. Goyal (eds.), Oilseeds: Health Attributes and Food Applications,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4194-0_17
427