CARROT OIL | About carrot oil and carrot seed oil

Carrot seed oil and carrot oil are different. Carrot seed oil is the essential oil found in the seeds of the carrot plant Daucus carota. The extract is steam distilled from the dried seeds. In contrast, carrot oil or carrot root oil is obtained by solvent extraction of the red carrot root and contains high levels of carotenes.

Carrot seed oil has a woody, earthy sweet smell and is yellow or amber-coloured to pale orange-brown in appearance.

Carrot oils can be found in a wide range of products dealing with general health, skin, hair, and tanning. They are commonly used as fragrance, flavouring, and a source of food color, beta-carotene, and vitamin A.

Pure carrot seed oil can be very expensive and, therefore, is mostly found in adulterated form, where it is mixed with other oils and ingredients to make the final product more affordable.

Carrot seed oil in adulterated and pure unadulterated forms can be found in our carrot oil shop.

Health benefits

Carrot seed oil is one of the most rejuvenating and regenerating oils that can be used in skincare and, through helping remove toxic build-up in the skin and eliminating excess water from skin tissue, can benefit and improve the complexion, giving it a much fresher, firmer appearance. It is thought to aid dry skin and revitalise the basal layer, the deepest layer of the five layers of the epidermis. In addition to its anti-ageing benefits, carrot seed oil can be useful in the treatment of eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis.

Although there is no definitive medicinal data on this oil, carrot seed oil is believed to have anitseptic, anthelmintic, carminative, cytophylactic, depurative, diuretic, and hepatic properties. As well as being a major chloesterol buster, there are suggestions that carrot seed oil may also be anti-diabetic.

Laboratory studies show that carrot seed oil acts both as a muscle relaxant, reducing tension, and as a vasodilator, assisting circulation. Carrot seed oil might be useful for the treatment of hypertension and neurasthenia in addition to possibly having a powerful positive effect on the liver and gall-bladder, aiding the treatment of jaundice and a range of other liver disorders. However, hypotensive and hepatoprotective properties have yet to be confirmed in humans.

Carrot oil is hormonal in action and helps the pituitary gland to regulate the production of thyroxine and the release of ova. It is also said to ease premenstrual tension.

Carrot seed oil is said to have a powerful positive effect on the liver and gall-bladder, and is used in the treatment of jaundice and a range of other liver disorders.

What's in it?

The pharmocologically active constituents of carrot seed extract are three flavones: luteolin, luteolin 3'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside, and luteolin 4'-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside.

Rather than the extract, the distilled (ethereal) oil is used in perfumery and food aromatization. The main constituent of this oil is carotol.

What is Carotol?

Carotol was first isolated by scientists Asahina and Tsukamoto in 1925. It is one of the primary components found in carrot seed oil comprising approximately 40% of this essential oil. This sesquiterpene alcohol is thought to be formed in carrot seeds (Daucus carota L., Umbelliferae) during the vegetation period. Additionally, studies have shown that carotol may be involved in allelopathic interactions expressing activity as an antifungal, herbicidal and insecticidal agent.

The chemistry

According to the website Drugs.com, carrot seed oil is comprised of;

beta-pinene (up to 13%), beta-pinene, carotol (up to 18%), daucol, limonene, beta-bisabolene, beta-elemene, cis -beta-bergamotene, y-decalactone, beta-farnesene, geraniol, geranyl acetate (up to 10%), caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, methyl eugenol, nerolidol, eugenol, trans -asarone, vanillin, asarone, alpha-terpineol, terpinene-4-ol, y-decanolactone, coumarin, beta-selinene, palmitic acid, butyric acid and other constituents. The seed oil varies in content from 0.005% to 7% of the plant.

Adverse reactions

Because myristicin (a known psychoactive agent) occurs in carrot seed, it has been proposed that ingestion of large amounts of D. carota may cause neurological effects. Some people have shown sensitivity (irritation, vesication) to carrot leaf when they handle it excessively, especially after exposure to sunlight.