white paints, as it does not have the yellow tint which linseed oil possesses. In one review of small clinical trials, safflower oil consumption reduced blood low-density lipoprotein levels – a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases – more than those seen from butter or lard consumption. Flowers for human consumption Safflower flowers are occasionally used in cooking as a cheaper substitute for saffron, sometimes referred to as "bastard saffron". The dried safflower petals are also used as a herbal tea variety. Dye from flowers Safflower petals contain one red and two yellow dyes. In coloring textiles, dried safflower flowers are used as a natural dye source for the orange-red pigment carthamin. Carthamin is also known, in the dye industry, as Carthamus Red or Natural Red 26. Yellow dye from safflower is known as Carthamus yellow or Natural Yellow 5. One of the yellow pigments is fugitive and will wash away in cold water. The dye is suitable for cotton, which takes up the red dye, and silk, which takes up the yellow and red color yielding orange. No mordant is required. In Japan, dyers have long utilised a technique of producing a bright red to orange-red dye (known as carthamin) from the dried florets of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius). Darker shades are achieved by repeating the dyeing process several times, having the fabric dry, and redyed. Due to the expensive nature of the dye, safflower dye was sometimes diluted with other dyestuffs, such as turmeric and sappan. Biodegradable oil In Australia in 2005, CSIRO and Grains Research and Development Corporation launched the Crop Biofactories initiative to produce 93% oleic oil for use as a biodegradable oil for lubricants, hydraulic fluids, and transformer oils, and as a feedstock for biopolymers and surfactants. See also Conjugated linoleic acid Suetsumuhana Tsheringma References External links Safflower field crops manual, University of Wisconsin, 1992 Plant dyes Food colorings Cooking oils tinctorius Medicinal plants Vegetable oils Plants used in traditional Chinese medicine Plants used in Ayurveda Plants described in 1753 Oil seeds Abortifacients