Snowball seed oil is a pressed seed oil, extracted from the seeds of the ''

Viburnum opulus ''Viburnum opulus'', the guelder-rose or guelder rose () is a species of flowering plant in the family (biology), family Adoxaceae (formerly Caprifoliaceae) native plant, native to Europe, northern Africa and central Asia. Description ''Viburn ...

'' (common snowball), which grows in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Snowball

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

contains a variety of bioactive substances, including tannic substances,

saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

s, vitamin K₁,

ascorbic acid Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...

and

carotene The term carotene (also carotin, from the Latin ''carota'', "carrot") is used for many related unsaturated hydrocarbon substances having the formula C40Hx, which are synthesized by plants but in general cannot be made by animals (with the exc ...

, and is used medicinally. The seeds, which contain up to 21% oil, are rich in

tocopherol Tocopherols (; TCP) are a class of organic chemical compounds (more precisely, various methylated phenols), many of which have vitamin E activity. Because the vitamin activity was first identified in 1936 from a dietary fertility factor in rats, i ...

(Vitamin E), carotinoides (provitamin A) and

micronutrient Micronutrients are nutrient, essential dietary elements required by organisms in varying quantities throughout life to orchestrate a range of physiological functions to maintain health. Micronutrient requirements differ between organisms; for exam ...

s. Snowball seed oil is little known or used outside

References

{{vegetable-oil-stub Vegetable oils