Tea seed oil

File:Camelia oil chinese.jpeg

Tea seed oil

Tea seed oil (also known as camellia oil, camellia seed oil, teanut oil) is an edible plant oil. It is obtained from the seeds of Camellia oleifera.

Camellia sasanqua is also given as a source of 'tea seed oil.

Description

The genus Camellia includes several commercially important species - Camellia oleifera is grown mainly in China for vegetable oil.Template:Sfn The oil is known as 'camellia oil', 'tea seed oil', or 'camellia seed oil'.Template:Sfn As of 2016 of oleifera forest centered on the Yangtze river basin in Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guangxi produces 0.26 million tons of oil.Template:Sfn

Wild Camellia oleifera contains ~47% oil, whilst cultivated varieties have shown oil content from 42 to 53%.Template:Sfn Oil analysis of cultivated varieties showed : ~76-82% oleic acid; 5-11% linoleic acid; 7.5-10% palmitic acid; 1.5-3% stearic acid - the ratios are similar to that found in wild oleifera.Template:Sfn The composition is similar to that of Olive oil.Template:Sfn Another analysis of several cultivars found : 82-84% unsaturated acids of which 68-77% oleic acid; and 7-14% polyunsaturated acids.Template:Sfn

Uses

With its high smoke point of , tea seed oil is the main cooking oil in some of the southern provinces of People's Republic of China, such as Hunan, especially in mountainous regions; roughly one-seventh of the country's population.

Cautions

Tea seed oil should not be mistaken for tea tree oil (melaleuca oil), an inedible essential oil extracted from the leaves of the paperbark, Melaleuca alternifolia, which is used for medicinal purposes.

See also

• Camellia japonica, source of an oil known as Tsubaki oil. Mainly used as cooking oil and to hold a hairstyle.
• Camellia sinensis, for tea production.