Flax
Flax (also known as common flax or linseed) (Linum usitatissimum) is a type of flowering plant.
| Linum usitatissimum | |
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| Common Flax | |
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| Species: | L. usitatissimum
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| Linum usitatissimum | |
The fibres of flax are used to make linen. High-quality paper used in banknotes is also made from flax fibres. An oil (linseed oil) can be made from the dried ripe flax seeds. Flax has been used for a long time in such tasks as making bows and candles.
Toxicity
Flax seed and its oil are nontoxic and are safe for human consumption.[1]
However, like many common foods, flax contains small amounts of cyanogenic glycoside.[2] This is nontoxic when eaten in normal amounts. It may be toxic when eaten in large quantities as with staple foods such as cassava.[3] The small percentage of cyanide can be removed by special processing.[4]
Flax Media
Flax being harvested during World War I
- Emile Claus001.jpg
De vlasoogst (1904) ("The flax harvest") painting by Emile Claus, Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
- Hatchel of the Bugg Family.jpg
A hackle or heckle, a tool for threshing flax and preparing the fiber
- Brown Flax Seeds.jpg
Brown Flax Seeds.
- Ground Golden Flax Seeds (8594315026).jpg
Ground Golden Flax Seeds
Bread rolls being topped with flax seeds before baking
- Heckling Shop Irvine.JPG
An 18th-century heckling shop once used to prepare flax fibers. North Ayrshire, Scotland.
- Flax field.JPG
A flax field in bloom in North Dakota
- Rhof-flachsbearbeitung.ogv
Threshing, retting, and dressing flax at the Roscheider Hof Open Air Museum (Germany)
References
- ↑ Cheeseman MA (24 August 2009). "GRAS Petition by Flax Canada, Agency Response Letter GRAS Notice No. GRN 000280". U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ↑ Cunnane SC, Ganguli S, Menard C, Liede AC, Hamadeh MJ, Chen ZY, Wolever TM, Jenkins DJ (1993). "High alpha-linolenic acid flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum): some nutritional properties in humans". Br J Nutr. 69 (2): 443–53. doi:10.1079/bjn19930046. PMID 8098222.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) - ↑ Banea-Mayambu, JP; Tylleskar, T; Gitebo, N; Matadi, N; Gebre-Medhin, M; Rosling, H (1997). "Geographical and seasonal association between linamarin and cyanide exposure from cassava and the upper motor neurone disease konzo in former Zaire". Trop Med Int Health. 2 (12): 1143–51. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3156.1997.d01-215.x. PMID 9438470. S2CID 26846868.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
Other websites
Media related to Linum usitatissimum at Wikimedia Commons