Nutritional Properties and Benefits of Camelina Oil and Meal

The relation between malnutrition and illnesses has long been known. Food consumed by people in industrialized countries has higher levels of n-3 fatty acids. The benefits and risks of consuming edible fats are always discussed in scientific sources and mass media. Camelina oil has many properties and applications. This oil contains high amounts of omega-3, which helps prevent cancer and obesity. It is used in industry as a biofuel, in the production of resins, waxes, as well as in the production of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Vegetable oil factories add industrial antioxidants to prevent spoilage and oxidation and increase the shelf life of the oil which are extremely dangerous to human health.  However, due to high contents of alpha-tocopherol and vitamin E in camelina oil, which are powerful antioxidants, it does not need any additives for shelf life. The fatty acid profile of camelina oil depends on a number of factors, including the pedoclimatic conditions of the crop, such as the weather conditions during the growing season, genetic diversity between varieties, even there are differences between the characteristics of winter and spring camelina. Qualitative differences in the content of linoleic acid and alpha linolenic acid are considerable, but there is less variation in other fatty acids. The average fatty acid content of linoleic acid and alpha linolenic acid in Camelina oil is 12.4-15.3% and 36.8-40.8%, respectively. The average content of tocopherols in this oil is between 806-1008 mg/g. Camelina oil is golden yellow with a slight mustard aroma. The average of some physical properties of camelina oil colour such as refractive index, density, soap number and iodine number is equal to 1.4756 (at 25 ° C), 0.92 cc (25 ℃), 105 (iodine in 100 g of oil) and 187.8 (mg/g of oil), respectively.