Hempseed oil packed with health-promoting compounds, study finds -- ScienceDaily

12/16/14, 12:38 PM

Hempseed oil packed with health-promoting compounds,

study finds

Oil from non-drug varieties of hempseeds are full of health-promoting compounds.

Credit: American Chemical Society
Long stigmatized because of its "high"-inducing cousins, hemp -- derived from lowhallucinogenic varieties of cannabis -- is making a comeback, not just as a source of fiber
for textiles, but also as a crop packed with oils that have potential health benefits. A new
study, which appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, details just
how many healthful compounds hempseed oil contains.
Maria Angeles Fernndez-Arche and colleagues note that for millennia, people around
the world cultivated cannabis for textiles, medicine and food. Hemp has high levels of
vitamins A, C and E and beta carotene, and it is rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals
and fiber. In the early 20th century, many countries banned cannabis because some
varieties contain large amounts of the high-inducing compound THC. And although
Colorado recently legalized recreational marijuana use -- and some states have passed
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140129115155.htm

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Hempseed oil packed with health-promoting compounds, study finds -- ScienceDaily

12/16/14, 12:38 PM

medical marijuana laws -- the drug remains illegal according to U.S. federal law. But the
European Union has legalized growing low-THC versions of hemp, and it's making its
way back into fabrics and paper. With increasing interest in plant oils as a source of
healthful compounds, Fernndez-Arche's team wanted to investigate hempseed oil's
potential.
They did a detailed analysis of a portion of hempseed oil. They found it has a variety of
interesting substances, such as sterols, aliphatic alcohols and linolenic acids, that
research suggests promote good health. For example, it contains -linolenic acid, which
is an omega-3 fatty acid that some studies suggest helps prevent coronary heart disease.
The findings could have implications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and nonfood industries, they state.

Journal Reference:
1. S. Montserrat-de la Paz, F. Marn-Aguilar, M. D. Garca-Gimnez, M. A. FernndezArche. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Seed Oil: Analytical and
Phytochemical Characterization of the Unsaponifiable Fraction. Journal
of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2014; 140123151546004 DOI:
10.1021/jf404278q

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