Details
The oil coming from the seeds of the carrot, the orange root vegetable we all know and eat regularly. This oil is a really tricky one, as it can refer to two types of oil that can both be extracted from the carrot seeds: the essential oil (about 0.83% yield) and the fixed oil (about 7.84% yield).
The two seed oils are very different and to make matters even worse these two oils are also very different from carrot root oil, or carrot oil, that is basically carrot root extract macerated in a carrier oil such as sunflower or olive oil and is the one that contains the vitamin A precursor, carotene.
Let's start with the fixed oil: it's a nice emollient plant oil that is loaded with moisturizing fatty acids (petroselinic acid - 60% and linoleic acid - 12% are the main ones). Other important components are carotol (30%) and daucol (12%) that give the seed oil antifungal and antioxidant properties. Browsing cosmetic manufacturer info, the oil is also often described as revitalizing, toning and stimulating.
As for the essential oil, it is a light yellow colored oil with a rich, spicy and earthy fragrance. Its main component is carotol (about 65%) but similar to other essential oils, it is a chemically complex mixture with lots of compounds in small amounts. The essential oil also has antifungal and antioxidant properties but also contains fragrant components that might irritate sensitive skin types.
Show me some proof
- Özcan, Mehmet Musa, and Jean Claude Chalchat. "Chemical composition of carrot seeds (Daucus carota L.) cultivated in Turkey: characterization of the seed oil and essential oil." Grasas y aceites 58.4 (2007): 359-365.
- Shebaby, Wassim Nasri, et al. "The antioxidant and anticancer effects of wild carrot oil extract." Phytotherapy Research 27.5 (2013): 737-744.
- Jasicka-Misiak, Izabela, et al. "Antifungal activity of the carrot seed oil and its major sesquiterpene compounds." Zeitschrift für Naturforschung C 59.11-12 (2004): 791-796.