2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Mustard essential oil has been known for centuries as a dietary supplement, a remedy for all kinds of health complaints, and in India and Bangladesh even as an aphrodisiac. It has a turbulent history - at one time it was considered toxic to humans, now it is recognized as a healthy food and medicine. Used in cosmetics, physiotherapy and everywhere. Its various uses require it to be better known in order to be applied effectively.
Description of the mustard plant from which the essential oil is extracted
Mustard oil is a product derived from varieties of gray mustard with the Latin name Sareptskaya. This crop is an annual plant and is in the same family as cabbage. It is found in the wild in Central Asia, northern China, Mongolia and Siberia.
The plant has a long root that penetrates 200-300 meters underground. Its stem is bare, with a branched base, up to a meter and a half high. The flower is small, golden yellow, forms inflorescences. It blooms in April-May. Its fruit is a pod, about 5 centimeters long. The seeds are dark reddish or brown. The fruit ripens in late summer.
Mustard is cultivated in Europe, North America, China, India and northern parts of Africa. This was possible because it is resistant to cold and drought.
Obtaining essential oil from mustard
The production of essential mustard oil comes down to several stages: preparation of the seeds, their pressing, extraction and filtration of the product.
First, the raw material is mechanically cleaned of unusable nuts and impurities. The process is automated.
This is followed by cold pressing the seeds in an oil mill. However, this results in only 65 percent efficiency. Therefore, the industry uses double temperature pressing, which produces 90 percent vegetable concentrate.
Extraction is a dissolution where, under the influence of liquids, the oil is removed from the plant cells.
The purification of the product consists of distillation, followed by deodorization, then frozen, refined, hydrated and bleached. The final product is highly refined and purified, no color, odor, taste.
A better product is unrefined, in which only distillation is applied. It gives more benefits to the body. The content of fatty acids, vitamins and other useful substances is high, has a taste and aroma. It is widely used due to its beneficial effect due to its chemical composition.
Chemical composition of mustard essential oil
Mustard essential oil has a rich composition. 7 to 14 percent of it is eicosanoic acid, 8 to 12 percent is essential linolenic acid, 14 to 19 percent is linoleic acid, and 11 to 53 percent is erucic acid. What exactly will be the percentage composition depends on the type of plant.
In addition, the product contains ingredients that keep it from rotting and increase its shelf life up to 2 years.
Because erucic acid is harmful to the heart, low-grade mustard varieties have been developed.
Other ingredients are vitamins A and E, phytosterols, isothiocyanates, synegrins, with bactericidal and antitumor action.
The main component in mustard oil is the sinigrin glycoside. It is a natural antibiotic that helps heal wounds. It acts as an immunostimulant, analgesic, antiviral agent. By adding to them the anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, antiviral, antiseptic and anthelmintic action, a product with a huge field of expression is obtained.
Health benefits of mustard essential oil
The benefits of mustard oil are really many and practically everything.
1. It strengthens the immune system.
2. Reduces blood viscosity, enhances the elasticity of blood vessels. This normalizes the heart.
3. Serves to prevent atherosclerosis and facilitates fatty liver infiltration.
4. Supports the work of the intestinal tract, supports many systems - reproductive, nervous, endocrine. Stimulates appetite, supports intestinal peristalsis.
5. The essential oil has a beneficial effect on hormonal levels and in the metabolic processes of fats.
6. Cleans slag and toxins.
7. Maintains good visual acuity when working on the eyes.
8. Relieves menopause and menstruation.
9. Cleanses the bile ducts.
10. Recovers the body after physical exhaustion.
Application of mustard essential oil
Because of its many possibilities, mustard oil is recommended for medical purposes in: gastric complaints, hormonal problems, chronic diseases of the pancreas, constipation caused by intestinal motility, atherosclerosis and heart problems, anemia with iron deficiency, liver and bile complaints, prostate adenoma and hypertensive crises.
However, mustard essential oil is a multifunctional product and its application is not limited to medical needs, but is also used in cosmetics and cooking.
In cooking, its delicate aroma and sharp taste are appreciated. It is added to salads, canned food, main dishes. In Asian cuisine, it is used to stew fish, meat and vegetables. It goes well with cereals and improves the taste of pancakes. Added to the dough, it makes the pastries golden in color and puffy.
The external application of the oil is mainly for cosmetic purposes. Due to its warming effect, it is used for rubbing into the muscles when they are tired, or for calming the muscle connections, for balance of the blood circulation, for relieving swellings and inflammations, bruises, sprains and other mechanical damages.
Mustard essential oil penetrates deep in the dermis and saturates the skin with vitamins, absorbs well and gives a healthy, hydrated and maintained appearance of the skin all over the body. Masks with this oil smooth light wrinkles, improve hair growth and treat dandruff.
Contraindications to the use of mustard essential oil
Pure mustard essential oil contains only fats, phosphorus and vitamins. A natural product differs if it contains E-series additives on its label. Not only are different surrogates not useful, but they can be harmful to health.
This oil can be taken by pregnant women. However, it should be borne in mind that the concentrations of essential oil can lead to an allergic reaction in the body, and should not be allowed during pregnancy and lactation.
It is not recommended for the baby because it can cause allergies. It can be used as an immunostimulant only after the children reach the age of 5, and in minimal amounts, not more than 1 milligram.
It is not recommended in case of individual intolerance and therefore it is necessary to make a test before starting to take the oil. Patients with heart disease can take it only after consulting a cardiologist.
After consultation with a doctor, it can be taken by those suffering from gastritis, enterocolitis and duodenal or gastric ulcer.
In sensitive skin, the use of the concentrate can lead to allergic reactions.
When used in cooking, care must be taken of the very spicy taste, which is why it is used carefully in fine dishes.
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