The Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022 caused global prices of sunflower oil to increase by as much as 58% in a single month in 2022.[3][4]
Four types of sunflower oils with differing concentrations of fatty acids are produced through plant breeding and industrial processing: high-linoleic, high-oleic, mid-oleic, and high-stearic combined with high-oleic.[1][2]
High-linoleic, 69% linoleic acid
High-oleic, 82% oleic acid
Mid-oleic, 65% oleic acid
High-stearic with high-oleic, 18% stearic acid and 72% oleic acid[2]
A 2017 genome analysis provided a basis for the development of hybrid sunflowers to increase oil production.[8] Analysis of the sunflower genome duplication – starting about 29 million years ago – revealed two major breeding traits: flowering time and oil metabolism, which can be cultivated to improve the commercialization of sunflower oil.[9][10]
After the domestication of the sunflower (3000 BC) the Native Americans obtained and used oil from the seeds.[12][13] In the modern era, sunflower oil was first used in food in 1830, in Russia.[14][15]
In 2021, world production of sunflower oil was 18.5million tonnes, led by Russia and Ukraine, which together accounted for 55% of the total.[7]
In 2022, there was a global shortage of sunflower oil due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has led to an over 50% drop in the availability of sunflower oil. Due to the shortages, many brands are reforming their recipes by switching to rapeseed oil to allow the production of their products to continue.[16]
Because sunflower oil is primarily composed of less-stable polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, it can be particularly susceptible to degradation by heat, air, and light, which trigger and accelerate oxidation. Keeping sunflower oil at low temperatures during manufacturing and storage can help minimize rancidity and nutrient loss—as can storage in bottles that are made of either darkly-colored glass, or plastic that has been treated with an ultraviolet light protectant.[citation needed]
Sunflower oil can be extracted using chemical solvents (e.g., hexane), or expeller pressing (i.e., squeezed directly from sunflower seeds by crushing them).[23] "Cold-pressing" (or expeller pressing) sunflower seeds under low-temperature conditions is a method that does not use chemical solvents to derive sunflower seed oil.[24]
Refining sunflower oil through solvent extraction, de-gumming, neutralization, and bleaching can make it more stable and suitable for high-temperature cooking, but doing so will also remove some of the oil's nutrients, flavor, color (resulting in a pale-yellow), free fatty acids, phospholipids, polyphenols, and phytosterols. Also, some of the polyunsaturated fatty acids will be converted into trans fat due to the high temperatures involved in the process.[25][26] Unrefined sunflower oil is less heat-stable (and therefore well-suited to dishes that are raw, or cooked at low temperatures), but it will retain more of its original nutrient content, flavor, and color (light-amber).
Refined sunflower oil is used for low-to-extremely-high-temperature cooking. As a frying oil, it behaves as a typical vegetable oil, and is used in sunflower butter.[citation needed]
Extraction of sunflower oil leaves behind the crushed seeds, typically referred to as seed meal, which is rich in protein and dietary fiber and used as an animal feed, fertilizer or fuel.[28]
PEG-10 sunflower glycerides, a pale yellow liquid with a "slightly fatty" odor, are the polyethylene glycol derivative of the mono- and diglycerides derived from sunflower seed oil with an average of 10 moles of ethylene oxide.[31] PEG-10 sunflower glycerides are commonly used in cosmetic formulations.
In the European Union sunflower oil can be sprayed onto tomato crops as a fungicide to control powdery mildew from Oidium neolycopersici. For this use, it is classified as a 'basic substance' that can be used on both organic and conventional farms.[32]
^Rauf S, Jamil N, Tariq SA, Khan M, Kausar M, Kaya Y (2017). "Progress in modification of sunflower oil to expand its industrial value". J Sci Food Agric. 97 (7): 1997–2006. doi:10.1002/jsfa.8214. PMID28093767.
^ abcNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). ISBN978-0-309-48834-1. PMID30844154. Archived from the original on 2024-05-09. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
^Kemény, Z.; Recseg, K.; Hénon, G.; Kővári, K.; Zwobada, F. (2001). "Deodorization of vegetable oils: Prediction of trans polyunsaturated fatty acid content". Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society. 78 (9): 973–979. doi:10.1007/s11746-001-0374-0. S2CID67792000.
^Lomascolo, A; Uzan-Boukhris, E; Sigoillot, J. C.; Fine, F (2012). "Rapeseed and sunflower meal: A review on biotechnology status and challenges". Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 95 (5): 1105–14. doi:10.1007/s00253-012-4250-6. PMID22752367. S2CID11723992.
^Johnson, JJ. Meyer, RF. Krall, JM. Shroyer, JP. Schlegel, AJ. Falk, JS and Lee, CD. 2005. Agronomic Practices. In High Plains Sunflower Production Handbook. Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS [accessed 2014 October 22].
^ abc"US National Nutrient Database, Release 28". United States Department of Agriculture. May 2016. All values in this table are from this database unless otherwise cited or when italicized as the simple arithmetic sum of other component columns.
^"Avocado oil, fat composition, 100 g". US National Nutrient Database, Release 28, United States Department of Agriculture. May 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
^Ozdemir, Feramuz; Topuz, Ayhan (June 2004). "Changes in dry matter, oil content and fatty acids composition of avocado during harvesting time and post-harvesting ripening period". Food Chemistry. 86 (1): 79–83. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2003.08.012.
^"Brazil nut oil, fat composition, 100 g". US National Nutrient Database, Release 28, United States Department of Agriculture. May 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
^ abcdKatragadda, Harinageswara Rao; Fullana, Andrés; Sidhu, Sukh; Carbonell-Barrachina, Ángel A. (May 2010). "Emissions of volatile aldehydes from heated cooking oils". Food Chemistry. 120 (1): 59–65. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.09.070.
^"Canola oil, fat composition, 100 g". US National Nutrient Database, Release 28, United States Department of Agriculture. May 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
^"Coconut oil, fat composition, 100 g". US National Nutrient Database, Release 28, United States Department of Agriculture. May 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
^"Palm oil, fat composition, 100 g". US National Nutrient Database, Release 28, United States Department of Agriculture. May 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.