Physicochemical characteristics of safflower oil to expand its production in Egypt

Abstract Background: Increasing demand for sustainable and economical non-traditional edible oils as alternatives to common oils is pivotal to bridge the edible oils gap, accompanied by negative impacts of climate change on the agroecological settings for common oilseed crop productivity. Safflower is one of the fast-growing medicinal oilseed crops rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, known as the “king of linoleic acid”, with capability for growing under high temperatures, drought, salinity, and marginal environments. Aims: The current research aimed to study in-depth the physicochemical characteristics along with the lipid nutritional indices of safflower oil to validate its potential for expansion in production in Egypt. Materials and Methods: Safflower oils extracted from seeds of two spineless varieties of Egypt were subjected to proximate composition, physicochemical, fatty acid composition, and α-tocopherol analyses. A frying stability test was carried out for safflower oil and its blends with soybean oil in different ratios, monitored by analyses of free fatty acid, peroxide value, and total polar compounds. Lipid nutritional indices were calculated to explore their health-related applications. Results: Safflower oil revealed similar proximate composition as sunflower oil with similar physicochemical characteristics. The fatty acid composition of safflower oil was greatly similar to sunflower oil, with smaller oleic acid and greater linoleic acid contents, along with recognized stability in the frying process. Lipid nutritional indices calculated from the fatty acid composition supported the medicinal uses of safflower oil as a valuable source of ω-6 fatty acids and revealed optimum indices of atherogenicity (IA), thrombogenicity (IT), and hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic (HH) with the health-promoting index (HPI) along with the powerful antioxidant effect of the high content of α-tocopherol. Conclusions: Safflower oil successfully demonstrated its potential as a promising non-traditional edible oil qualified for expansion in production in Egypt.