The Use of Rapeseed for Medicinal Purposes

Abstract

Rapeseed are many components and ingredients in the human diet that were not very popular before, but nowadays play an important role in the prevention and treatment of some diseases that the world civilizations fight with. Due to the numerous compounds with health properties that some plants contain, they have become necessary for a normal lifestyle. In this respect, the rapeseed is one of the plants that are used for medicinal purposes, for the benefits that its oil brings to the human body. Rapeseed oil is an important agricultural crop, grown primarily for oil production. Oilseed rape is the second-highest yielding oil crop worldwide and accounted for 14% of world major oil crop production. Rapeseed oil has been shown to be useful not only for food and oil industry, but also for recovery, health improvement and it contributes to some disease prevention. Micronutrients in rapeseed as polyphenols, tacopherols, phytosterols and phospholipids may have benefits in reducing atherosclerosis, according to the latest researches. The usage of rapeseed oil as a food product as well as in the production of non nutrition products such as greases, lubricant oils and especially diesel fuel may increase the rapeseed production in the world (Fulton, 2004).