Crucifera oils

As with rape, the oil contains large amounts of brassicasterol a unique component used for identifying the presence of Cruciferae oils (Matsumoto etaL, 1982). Minor amounts of brassicasterol have however been reported in other vegetable oils. 

Radish oil is supposed to be one of the most common oil crop products in Roman Egypt [61], as mentioned also by Pliny in Naturalis Historia (XV 7 XIX 26), though the source of this oil may not only be Raphanus sativus but other Cruciferae species as well. 

Mustard oils, such as allylisothiocyanate, are products of the hydrolysis of mustard oil glycosides (78). Mustard oils are produced by all organs of plants belonging to the Cruciferae (mustard family) (75), and are strong inhibitors of seed germination and microbial growth. 

The mucilage is sometimes a food reserve (Linum, Cruciferae) and in plants living in dry climates it may act as a water reservoir. The formation of resins and oils is said to be the function of a mucilaginous membrane. 

A blend of racemic 24, 25, 27, and 29, along with (+)-28 obtained from citronella oil, was prepared and formulated so that the emitted compounds would be in the proportions found from P. cruciferae. The blend was field tested in Canada by Soroka et al. (2005). (Compound 26 was not available in sufficient amounts for inclusion in the study.) They found that the mixture was attractive to both sexes, supporting the original idea that the compounds serve as a pheromone. Furthermore, the blend was synergized by allyl isothiocyanate, a mustard oil from the hosts that was previously found to be attractive to P. cruciferae (see Soroka et al., 2005, for discussion). This biological pattern was like that for the nitidulids, but with completely different chemicals. 

FEENY, P., PAAUWE, K.L., DEMONG, N.J., Flea beetles and mustard oils Host plant specificity of Phyllotreta cruciferae and P. striolata adults (Coleoptera Chrysomelidae)., Ann Entomol. Soc. Am., 1970, 63, 832-841. 

Canola Oil occurs as a light yellow oil. It is typically obtained by a combination of mechanical expression followed by n-hexane extraction, from the seed of the plant Brassica juncea, Brassica napus, or Brassica rapa (Fam. Cruciferae). The plant varieties are those producing oil-bearing seeds with a low erucic acid (C22 i) content. It is a mixture of triglycerides composed of both saturated and unsaturated fatty acids. It is refined, bleached, and deodorized to substantially remove free fatty acids phospholipids color odor and flavor components and miscellaneous, other non-oil materials. It can be hydrogenated to reduce the level of unsaturated fatty acids for functional purposes in foods. It is a liquid at 0° and above. 

Brassica napus, and Brassica rapa of the family Cruciferae. It is made by hydrogenating high erucic acid rapeseed oil in the presence of a nickel catalyst at temperatures not exceeding 245°. 

The Crucifera seed oils, including rape-seed and mustard oil, are characterized by the presence of large amounts of erucic acid... 

Table 2-12 Component Fatty Acids of Some Crucifera Seed Oils (Wt%)...

Oilseed rape species used to produce canola oil and meal are from the Brassica genus in the Cruciferae family. They were first cultivated in India almost 4000 years ago. Large-scale planting of rapeseed was first reported in Europe in the thirteenth century. The Brassica species probably evolved from the same common ancestor as wild mustard (Sinapis), radish (Raphanus), and arrugula Eruca). 

Canola oil is obtained by mechanical expression or -hexane extraction from the seeds of Brassica napus (Brassica campes-tris) var. oleifera and certain other species of Brassica (Cruciferae). The crude oil thus obtained is refined, bleached, and deodorized to substantially remove free fatty acids, phospholipids, color, odor and flavor components, and miscellaneous nonoil materials. 

Plant sterols, also called phytosterols, have been reported to include over 250 different sterols and related compounds in various terrestrial and marine materials (Akihisa et al., 1991). Sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol are the commonly consumed plant sterols. The predominant sterol class in vegetable oils is 4-desmethyl sterols. Sitosterol usually contributes more than 50% of desmethyl sterols. The other most significant desmethyl sterols include campesterol, stigmasterol, A5-avenasterol, A7-avenasterol, and A7-stigmastenol. Brassicasterol is a typical sterol for rapeseed and other Cruciferae. Stanol occurs in significant amounts in com bran and fiber oil (Piironen, et al., 2000). 

Scientists have, for example, analyzed the contents of pottery to identify the presence of olive oil and have also discovered milk, fat, beef suet, oil of Cruciferae, and other food residues. A ceramic vessel from the southwestern Cape of South Africa yielded marine animal hpids, suggesting that perhaps seal meat had been cooked in this pot. Cocoa was identified in ceramic vessels from the Maya Site of Rio Azul and more recent studies, described in Chap. 5, have identified chocolate residues in pottery found in New Mexico. 

AUyl Isothiocyanate. 3-Isothiocyanato-l -propene isothioeyanic acid allyl ester allyl isosulfocyanate volatile oil ol mustard Redskin. C4HsNS mol wt 99.15. C 48.45%, H 5.08%, N 4.I3%, S 32.34%. CH,—CHCH2NCS. Isolated from ft raw ica nigra (L.) Koch, Cruciferae (black mustard seed), or prepd from allyl iodide and potassium thiocyanate Duliere, J. Pharm. Belg. 2, 981 (1920), C.A. 15, 57 H (1921). 

Oil of Mustard, Expressed. Fixed oil expressed from the mustard seeds of Brassica alba (L.) Boiss. and B. nigra (L.) Koch, Cruciferae. Conslit Chiefly the glycerides of oleic add and other fatty acids, including arachidic. 

Rapeseed Oil, Colza oil. Oil expressed from seeds of Brossica campestris L, Cruciferae. 

Some are suitable for human nutrition, at least in small amounts (UmbelUferae and Cruciferae plants) others are consumed only in tropical countries (such as tung oil) and still other oils are used only for nonedible purposes (such as castor oil or oiticica oil). They might even be used for pharmaceutical purposes (e.g., chauhnoogra oil). 

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