amaranth oil

{{Short description|Oil from the seeds of two species of the genus Amaranthus}}

Image:Amaranthus cruentus Foxtail 2.jpg

Amaranth oil is extracted from the seeds of two species of the genus Amaranthus — A. cruentus and A. hypochondriacus — that are called, collectively, amaranth grain.

Amaranth oil is a light-to-medium-colored, clear liquid that is pourable at low temperatures.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} It is a source of fatty acids, with oleic acid, linoleic acid, and palmitic acid having the highest proportions.{{cite journal|pmc=1779269|year=2007|last1=Martirosyan|first1=D. M|title=Amaranth oil application for coronary heart disease and hypertension|journal=Lipids in Health and Disease|volume=6|pages=1|last2=Miroshnichenko|first2=L. A|last3=Kulakova|first3=S. N|last4=Pogojeva|first4=A. V|last5=Zoloedov|first5=V. I|doi=10.1186/1476-511X-6-1|pmid=17207282 |doi-access=free }} The oil is valued for its ability to add temperature stability at both high and low temperatures. Commercial uses of amaranth oil include foods, cosmetics, shampoos, and intermediates for manufacture of lubricants, pharmaceuticals, rubber chemicals, aromatics, and surface active agents.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} As a food oil, amaranth oil has a delicate taste. The oil content of the actual amaranth grain ranges from 4.8 to 8.1%, which is relatively low compared to other sources of seed oil.{{cite journal|author =Budin, J.T.|author2 =Breene, W.M.|author3 =Putman, D.H|name-list-style =amp|title=Some compositional properties of seed oils of eight Amaranth species|journal= Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society|volume=73|issue=4|pages=475–481|doi=10.1007/BF02523922|year=1996|s2cid =84760918}} Cited in [http://www.ienica.net/crops/amaranth.htm Interactive European Network for Industrial Crops and their Applications: Amaranth] The melting point of amaranth oil is {{Convert|-27|°C|°F|abbr=on}}.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

Chemically, the major constituents of amaranth oil are:

:

class="wikitable" ! Fatty acid !! Content
Linoleic acid	align="right" | 50%
Oleic acid	align="right" | 23%
Palmitic acid	align="right" | 19%
| Stearic acid	align="right" | 3%