Sunflower

Sunflowers are native to North and South America and were worshiped by the Incas as an image of their sun god. In 1530 the Sunflower was brought to Europe by Spanish sailors. They are particularly grown for the oil, which contains a lot of unsaturated fatty acids. This is for example linoleic acid, which lowers the cholesterol level in the blood. The seeds can be peeled or unpeeled, and eaten raw or roasted.

Novi Trading supplies sunflower products off our own farmland so we are able to monitor the full supply chain from sewing the seeds up until the grounding process.

Sunflower Oil

Sunflower oil is extracted from the seeds by grounding. In particular, cold-pressed oil is a high quality food source. After squeezing out the seeds, flour remains that is used for cattle feed. There are several types of sunflower oil can be distinguished: high linoleic (at least 69% linoleic acid), high oleic (at least 82% oleic acid) and mid oleic.

Sunflower Fatty Acids

The variation in fatty acid profile is strongly influenced by genetic characteristics of the plant and the climate it is grown in. Sunflower fatty acids are for example: palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, arachidic acid, linolenic acid and behenic acid and mid oleic.