Mustard Oil - Effects On Health

Effects On Health

The effects of erucic acid from edible oils on human health are controversial. However no negative health effects have ever been documented in humans. A four-to-one mixture of erucic acid and oleic acid constitutes Lorenzo's oil; an experimental treatment for the rare neurobiology disorder adrenoleukodystrophy.

Mustard oil was once considered unsuitable for human consumption in the United States, Canada, and the European Union due to the high content of erucic acid. This is because of early studies in rats. Subsequent studies on rats have shown that they are less able to digest vegetable fats (whether they contain erucic acid or not) than humans and pigs. Chariton et al. suggests that in rats: “Inefficient activation of erucic acid to erucyl-CoA and a low level of activity of triglyceride lipase and enzymes of betaoxidation for erucic acid probably contribute to the accumulation and retention of cardiac lipid.” Before this process was fully understood it led to the belief that erucic acid and mustard oil were both highly toxic to humans.

Epidemiological studies suggest that, in regions where mustard oil is still used in a traditional manner, mustard oil may afford some protection against cardiovascular diseases. In this sense "traditional" means that the oil is used fresh and vegetable fats count only as a small percentage of the total caloric intake. Whether this effect is due to the nature of erucic acid per se to make the blood platelets less sticky, or to the presence of a reasonably high percentage of α-linolenic acid, or to a combination of properties of fresh unrefined oil, is as yet uncertain. The fact that early asymptomatic coronary disease is absent in the mustard oil cohorts tends to add weight to the hypothesis that mustard oil is protective.

The use of mustard oils in traditional societies for infant massage has been identified by one study as risking damaging skin integrity and permeability. Other studies over larger samples have shown that massaging with mustard oil improved the weight, length, and midarm and midleg circumferences as compared to infants without massage, although sesame oil is a better candidate for this than mustard oil.