Safflower oil is pressed from the seeds of the safflower plant. High-linoleic safflower oil is rich in linoleic acid, an omega-6 fat, and is used in cooking and in capsules.
Also known as: safflower, high-linoleic safflower oil, Carthamus tinctorius oil, SAF.
Two trials used 8 g of safflower oil a day for 16 weeks (Norris 2009, Asp 2011). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
The NIH Dietary Supplement Label Database lists safflower oil products such as Ultra Linoleic Safflower Oil from Genceutic Naturals as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: in a crossover trial in obese postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes (35 completed), 8 g a day for 16 weeks lowered HbA1c by 0.64 points and C-reactive protein and raised HDL cholesterol (Asp 2011). In the same group, safflower oil did not change BMI or total fat but lowered trunk fat, raised lean mass and lowered fasting blood sugar; conjugated linoleic acid, the comparison oil, lowered BMI instead (Norris 2009). These trials had no placebo-only group. In the Sydney Diet Heart Study, men with heart disease told to replace saturated fat with safflower oil and safflower margarine had higher death rates than controls (Ramsden 2013).
Safety: the abstracts do not report side effects of the capsules. The sources here do not describe drug interactions.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for safflower oil that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. In the diabetes trial, linoleic acid in blood rose within 4 weeks of starting it (Asp 2011).
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