Mustard oil

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The term mustard oil is used for three different oils that are made from mustard seeds:

  • a fatty vegetable oil resulting from pressing the seeds,
  • an essential oil resulting from grinding the seeds, mixing them with water, and extracting the resulting volatile oil by distillation.
  • an oil made by infusing mustard seed extract into another vegetable oil, such as soybean oil

Mustard oil from pressed seeds

This oil has a strong smell, not unlike strong cabbage, a hot nutty taste, and is much used for cooking in Gujarat, Orissa, Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Assam and other areas of India and Bangladesh. In north India, it is mainly used in frying fritters. The oil makes up about 30% of the mustard seeds. It can be produced from black mustard (Brassica nigra), brown Indian mustard (Brassica juncea), and white mustard (Brassica hirta).

Mustard oil has about 60% monounsaturated fatty acids of which 42% erucic acid and 12% oleic acid, it has 21% polyunsaturates of which 6% is the omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and 15% omega-6 linoleic acid and it has 12% saturated fats (source: USDA food data base item 04583: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl

Mustard seeds, like all seeds of the (the cabbage-type) Brassica plant family, including canola (rapeseed) and turnip, are uniquely high in omega-3 (6 -11%) and are the most common, cheap and mass produced source of plant-based (thus, vegetarian source) of that uniquely heart healthy omega-3 fatty acid family (see 'Indo-Mediterranean' diet in the links below). Flax (linseed) oil has 55% plant-based omega-3 but is uncommon as a table or cooking oil. Soybean oil has 6% omega-3 but contains over 50% omega-6, the fatty acid that competes with the omega-3 function. Notably, there are no other common sources of plant based omega-3 in Western and Indian diets. Especially when omega-6 intake is kept low, humans can convert the plant omega-3 into one of the fish omega-3's, Eicosapentaenoic acid, in credible amounts, vital for vegetarians.

In India, mustard oil is often heated almost to smoking before it is used for cooking; this may be an attempt to reduce the strong smell and taste. However, high heat can damage the omega-3 in the oil, reducing its unique role in health. In Western countries, the oil is often sold "for external use only" in stores catering to Indian immigrants, since in North India, mustard oil is also used for rub-downs and massages (see ayurveda), thought to improve blood circulation, muscular development and skin texture; the oil is also antibacterial.

Effects on health

The effects of erucic acid from edible oils on human health are controversial. Mustard oil was once considered unsuitable for human consumption in the United States, Canada and the European Union due to the high content of erucic acid. A four-to-one mixture of erucic acid and oleic acid constitutes Lorenzo's oil; an experimental treatment for a rare neurobiology disorder adrenoleukodystrophy.

Epidemiological studies suggest that, in regions where mustard oil is still used in a traditional manner, mustard oil may afford some protection against cardiovascular diseases. In this sense 'traditional' means that the (a) oil is used fresh and (b) vegetable fats count only as a small percentage of the total caloric intake. Whether this effect is due to the nature of erucic acid per se to make the blood platelets less sticky, or to the presence of a reasonably high percentage of α-linolenic acid, or to a combination of properties of fresh unrefined oil, is as yet uncertain. Care needs to be taken with such epidemiological studies in order to exclude the possibility of early deaths from other causes skewing the results. The fact that early asymptomatic coronary disease is readily detectable post mortem and is absent in the mustard oil cohorts tends to add weight to the hypothesis that mustard oil is protective. [1]

Mustard oil from mixing seeds with water

The pungency of the condiment mustard results when ground mustard seeds are mixed with water, vinegar, or other liquid (or even when chewed). Under these conditions, a chemical reaction between the enzyme myrosinase and a glucosinolate known as sinigrin from the seeds of black mustard (Brassica nigra) or brown Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) produces allyl isothiocyanate. By distillation one can produce a very sharp-tasting essential oil, sometimes called volatile oil of mustard, containing more than 92% allyl isothiocyanate. The pungency of allyl isothiocyanate is due to the activation of the TRPA1 ion channel in sensory neurons. White mustard Brassica hirta does not yield allyl isothiocyanate, but a different and milder isothiocyanate. [citation needed]

Allyl isothiocyanate serves the plant as a defense against herbivores. Since it is harmful to the plant itself, it is stored in the harmless form of a glucosinolate, separate from the myrosinase enzyme. Once the herbivore chews the plant, the noxious allyl isothiocyanate is produced. Allyl isothiocyanate is also responsible for the pungent taste of horseradish and wasabi. It can be produced synthetically, sometimes known as synthetic mustard oil.[citation needed]

Because of the contained allyl isothiocyanate, this type of mustard oil is toxic and irritates the skin and mucous membranes. In very small amounts, it is often used by the food industry for flavoring. In northern Italy, for instance, it is used in the fruit condiment called mostarda. It is also used to repel cats and dogs. It will also denature alcohol, making it unfit for human consumption, thus avoiding the taxes collected on alcoholic beverages. [citation needed]

The CAS number of this type of mustard oil is 8007-40-7, and the CAS number of pure allyl isothiocyanate is 57-06-7.

Use of mustard oil in North Indian cultural activities

Mustard oil, though not very popular as a cooking oil in North India, still is intricately embedded in the culture, used in these contexts:

  1. It is poured on both sides of threshold when someone important comes home for the first time (e.g. a newly-wedded couple or a son or daughter when returning after a long absence, or succeeding in an exams or election.
  2. Used as traditional jaggo pot fuel in Punjabi weddings.
  3. Used as part of home-made cosmetics during mayian.
  4. Used as fuel for lighting earthen lamps (diyas)on festive occasions like Diwali.
  1. ^ Rastogi T, Reddy KS, Vaz M; et al. (2004). "Diet and risk of ischemic heart disease in India". Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 79 (4): 582–92. PMID 15051601. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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