Open Food Labels. Search 429 ingredients⌘K

Sunflower oil

What the research shows

Prototype

Unclear

the research on this page hasn’t settled it

2 health findings on this page · See the findings

An oil pressed from sunflower seeds.

It is commonly used in food as a frying oil.

Written from Open Food Facts and English Wikipedia12

What research says

Studies in people

  • Open question

    Fatty liver in women3

    In women with PCOS, sunflower oil did not improve fatty liver or cholesterol as much as canola oil did.

  • Open question

    Blood fats in diabetes4

    In women with type 2 diabetes, sunflower oil kept blood fats steady while canola and rice bran oils lowered them.

How it’s made and used

  • Daily fat needs5

    Sunflower oil is rich in one type of fat, so it cannot meet all your daily fat needs alone.

  • Oil going stale on the shelf6

    Adding rosemary extract to sunflower oil helped it stay fresh longer in these lab tests.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least two findings in people. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.

References

  1. 1sunflower oil: ingredient taxonomy entry. Open Food Facts.
  2. 2Sunflower oil. Wikipedia. Accessed September 26, 2026.
  3. 3Yahay M, Heidari Z, Allameh Z, Amani R. The effects of canola and olive oils consumption compared to sunflower oil, on lipid profile and hepatic steatosis in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. Lipids Health Dis. 2021;20(1):7. doi:10.1186/s12944-021-01433-9
  4. 4Salar A, Faghih S, Pishdad GR. Rice bran oil and canola oil improve blood lipids compared to sunflower oil in women with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, single-blind, controlled trial. J Clin Lipidol. 2016;10(2):299-305. doi:10.1016/j.jacl.2015.11.016
  5. 5Rabail R, Shabbir MA, Sahar A, Miecznikowski A, Kieliszek M, Aadil RM. An Intricate Review on Nutritional and Analytical Profiling of Coconut, Flaxseed, Olive, and Sunflower Oil Blends. Molecules. 2021;26(23). doi:10.3390/molecules26237187
  6. 6Upadhyay R, Mishra HN. Classification of Sunflower Oil Blends Stabilized by Oleoresin Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) Using Multivariate Kinetic Approach. J Food Sci. 2015;80(8):E1746-54. doi:10.1111/1750-3841.12966