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The safflower plant has been used for centuries to obtain an attractive red dye (“Spanish red”). When pink skin color was fashionable, ladies used it to make their faces more beautiful. It has also been used to add color and fun to poor people’s food as a substitute for saffron.
The flowers contain several coloring substances of glycosidic type, the most important of which is carthamin. They are sudorific and diuretic and are used for fever, influenza, or cold.
The fruit is rich in oil and is formed by a lesser proportion of linoleic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. Both the fruit and its oil have a strong purgative effect. Moreover, being rich in unsaturated fatty acids, they decrease the level of cholesterol in the blood.
Because of its strong flavor, safflower oil is seldom used. Other plant oils rich in unsaturated fatty acids include soya oil, corn oil, wheat germ oil, and grape seed oil.
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