ANALYSIS OF HEMP OIL

Hemp oil is considered to be one of nature's healthiest oils. It is known to contain therapeutic compounds, and for this reason is used both in medicine and in cosmetics. It has a high antioxidant quality and contains linoleic acids. These acids, along with eicosanoids, tocopherols, tocotrienols, Omega 3,6,&9 EFAs and all eight essential amino acids, make hemp oil a top item in health food shops.

Eicosanoids are hormone-like compounds which play a crucial role in vital processes including control of inflammation, maintaining vascualar tone and the intiation of contractions during delivery.

Tocopherols and tocotrienols are natural antioxidants which help preserve the oil and help reduce the risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Amino acids are the basic building blocks of protein, with essential and non-essential, the former being those the human body cannot produce, the latter those which it can.

Field trials conducted in 2000 and 2001 were written up with a view to recording the amount of these substances in different varieties of hemp; the results were publsihed in an article in the Journal of Industrial Hemp, Vol. 10, #2, 2005, in a report by Bertrand Matthaus et al.

Their report takes into account a number of factors, including mean average temperature and rainfall, using a number of varieties, including: Juso-14, Beniko, P60, Glera, CAN22, Bialo, Blu-46, Felina, P59, Fedrina74, Helvetica, Epsilon, CAN31, Futura, Zolo11, P54, CAN33, UNIKO-B, CAN30, Fedora19, CAN28, P57, Lipko, Kompolti, CAN21, 52092, CAN21, CAn29, Juso-31, CAn20, RAMO, USO-14, Fibrimon56, Glu-33,P53, CAN36, Lovrin110, CAN27, P52, CAN32, CAN24, P52, CAN32, CAN24, CAN26, P51, D.o.-14, CAN18, Fasamo, CAN16, CAN23, Ferimon, & CAN17.

For each of the above varieties, analysis is made of their palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, gamma-linolenic acid, alpha linolenic acid, and stearodinic acid content.

The highest variety for palmitic acid was Juso-14, with 6.5 g/100gm in 2000, and 5.9 in 2001; for stearic acid, Juso-31, with 2.8 in 2000 and 2.6 in 2001; for oleic acid, Epsilon, with 11.7 in 2000 and 8.8 in 2001; for linoleic acid, Juso 14, with 58.0 in 2000 and 52.2 in 2001; for gamma-linolenic acid, Juso-14, with 4.1 in 2000 and 2.6 in 2001; for alpha-linolenic acid, CAN17, with 24.7 in 2000 and 21.2 in 2001; and for stearodinic acid, USO-14, with 1.5 in 2000 and 1.4 in 2001. Most levels were lower in 2001; the rainfall was 370mm for 2000, and 340mm for 2001 with an avearge temperature of 16.2 Celsius in 2000 and 15,7 Celsius in 2001.

From these and many other peer reviewed reports published recently, we can see that hemp is a major source of these compounds. As this information is made avaiable to the press and the public, we can expect to benefit from the use of hemp oil in food, medicine and cosmetics. As much of this information is recent however, there are still a number of journalists and even doctors who lack this basic knowledge and ignore hemp, often in favour of the more well known flax oil and fish oils. Recent articles, in such progressive papers as The Independent on Omega 3,6 & 9 oils have been completely neglectful of hemp oil, due perhaps to such ignorance.