Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction.
Owing to its polymer-forming properties, linseed oil is often blended with combinations of other oils, resins or solvents as an impregnator, drying oil finish or varnish in wood finishing, as a pigment binder in oil paints, as a plasticizer and hardener in putty, and in the manufacture of linoleum. Linseed oil use has declined over the past several decades with increased availability of synthetic alkyd resins—which function similarly but resist yellowing.[1]
Linseed oil is an edible oil in demand as a dietary supplement, as a source of α-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid. In parts of Europe, it is traditionally eaten with potatoes and quark.
- ^ Jones, Frank N. (2003). "Alkyd Resins". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. doi:10.1002/14356007.a01_409. ISBN 978-3527306732.