Carrot oil--also called oil of carrot, carrot seed oil, Queen Anne's lace and wild carrot--has been used as a folk remedy for hundreds of years. It is rich in nutritive and healing benefits. Carrot oil is made from the hairy seeds of the wild carrot, Daucus carota. This is not the same plant as the cultivated vegetable. Carrot oil is rich in beta-carotene and antioxidants, which is why it is used in skin creams and for its healing and medicinal effects.
Antifungal
Carrot seed oil is a strong antifungal that contains carotane sesquiterpenes carotol, daucol and beta caryophyliene. A 2004 study by the Institute of Chemistry at the University of Opole in Poland found carrot seed oil inhibited the growth of fungi by 65 percent.
Skin Antioxidant
Carrot oil contains high levels of carotenoids, which are used to make vitamin A and are powerful antioxidants. It also has high levels of tocopherol, a fat-soluble form of vitamin E, according to the National Institutes of Health. Carrot seed oil is a natural antioxidant that protects the skin and promotes healing with skin reproduction properties. It stimulates cell growth and is used in many skin creams for its rejuvenating effects.
Perfume Ingredient
Carrot seed oil is combined with other oils to produce a variety of perfumes. It is also an essential oil used in aromatherapy, according to the Aromatherapy Bible. It has a naturally sweet scent that blends well with other fragrances.
Nutriceutical
Carrot seed oil is rich in vitamins E, C and A. These are all powerful antioxidants that help protect the body from illness and can even help prevent disease. A 2009 study by the Department of Vegetable Biology at the University of La Sapienza in Italy found carrot oil to be a powerful nutriceutical, a food product that provides health and medical benefits, that heals and protects the body. It also is used to treat orchitis, a pain and swelling in the testes, thanks to its anti-inflammatory effects.
References
- Drugs.com: Carrot Oil
- Aromatherapy Bible: Carrot
- The Carrot Museum: Wild Carrot--Queen Annes Lace
- National Institutes of Health: Relationship of Carotenoids And Tocopherols in a sample of Carrot Root-Color Accessions And Carrot Germplasm Carrying Rp And rp Alleles
- National Institutes of Health: Antifungal Activity of the Carrot Seed Oil and its Major Sesquiterpene Compounds
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