Cottonseed oil is made from cotton by pressing seeds or extraction. The fat content in seeds is small, it rarely exceeds 25%. By pressing only 16-18% of the product can be squeezed. Such a low yield is compensated by the fact that cotton seeds are the waste of cotton production, they are very cheap.
Cottonseed oil comes in several varieties, but only the first grade refined product is suitable for human consumption. It has a golden yellow color. According to chemical analyzes, all vegetable oils have similar properties. They contain a large number of fatty unsaturated acids. Cotton product consists of 70-80% of them. Compared to other vegetable oils, this level of content is low.
Fatty unsaturated acids play a very important role in the metabolism. The human body produces them in extremely small quantities, so the deficiency is made up for by food. Deficiency of fatty acids can slow down the development of the emerging organism and adversely affect the health status of adults. It also leads to a violation of cholesterol metabolism, which threatens atherosclerosis.
Cottonseed oil has significant advantages. It contains a large amount of vitamin E, which stimulates fat metabolism and is necessary for the normal functioning of the sex glands. Another advantage of this product is a substance that strengthens blood vessels, lowers blood pressure and has a beneficial effect on the nervous system.
Nutritionists recommend using cottonseed oil in small amounts daily. Buying it is not so simple. On the shelves of stores it is found infrequently. This product is more in use in the countries of Central Asia. Other fatty oils are much easier to buy. Most cottonseed oil is produced in the United States.
An unrefined product contains such a toxic component as gossypol. The level of its concentration is determined by color. Unrefined oil is a reddish brown liquid, sometimes until black, bitter in taste and with a specific smell.
The properties and composition of cottonseed oil largely depend on the variety of the plant from which it is produced, as well as on the conditions of production and the growing area. In the chemical industry, cottonseed oil is used to make drying oil. The crude product is used in folk medicine to treat skin diseases and burns.
Not so long ago, scientists have proved that the substance gossypol can become one of the main components of drugs for treating HIV. Studies have shown that gossypol inhibits the development of the virus in the blood.
The product manufacturing process is quite simple. The seeds, separated from the fluff, are crushed on special rollers, and then heated to 220 ° C in broilers. Heated raw materials are placed in bags of wool, transferred with horsehair material and squeezed under a hydraulic press. Double pressing is sometimes used, first cold and then hot.