Cottonseed Oil

Synonyms: Cotton oil; refined cottonseed oil.

Description:  Pale yellow or bright golden yellow-colored, clear oily liquid. It is odorless, or nearly so, with a bland, nutty taste. At temperatures below 10C particles of solid fat may separate from the oil, and at about –5 to 0C the oil becomes solid or nearly so. If it solidifies, the oil should be remelted and thoroughly mixed before use.

Chemical Name: Cottonseed oil

Oleaginous vehicle; solvent.

• Cottonseed oil is used in pharmaceutical formulations primarily as a solvent for intramuscular injections.

• It has been used in intravenous emulsions as a fat source in parenteral nutrition regimens, although its use for this purpose has been superseded by soybean oil emulsions.

• It has also been used as an adjuvant in cholecystography and as a pediculicide and acaricide.

• It has the nutritive and emollient properties of fixed vegetable oils. By virtue of its high content of unsaturated acid glycerides (especially linoleic acid), it is used for dietary control of blood cholesterol levels in the prophylaxis and treatment of atherosclerosis.

• It is used as a solvent and vehicle for injections; as an emollient vehicle for other medications; and orally as a mild cathartic (in a dose of 30 mL or more).

• It can also retard gastric secretion and motility, and increase caloric intake. It has been used in the manufacture of soaps, oleomargarine, lard substitutes, glycerin, lubricants, and cosmetics.

• Cottonseed oil has been used as a tablet binder for acetaminophen; for characterization of the hot-melt fluid bed coating process in the manufacturing of stable oral pharmaceutical powders; in encapsulation of enzymes; and as an aqueous dispersion in pharmaceutical coating.

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Cottonseed oil emulsions have in the past been used in long-term intravenous nutrition regimens. A complex of adverse reactions called the ‘overloading syndrome’  has been seen with chronic administration of cottonseed oil emulsion. This consisted of anorexia, nausea, abdominal pain, headache, fever, and sore throat. Signs of impaired liver function, anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, thrombocytopenia, and spontaneous hemorrhage due to delayed blood clotting have been reported. For parenteral nutrition purposes, cottonseed oil has been replaced by soybean oil, especially in pregnant women, where the use of cottonseed lipid emulsion has been associated with adverse effects

Observe normal precautions appropriate to the circumstances and quantity of material handled. Spillages of this material are very slippery and should be covered with an inert absorbent material prior to disposal. Cottonseed oil is a combustible liquid when exposed to heat or flame. If it is allowed to impregnate rags or oily waste, there is a risk due to spontaneous heating. Dry chemicals such as carbon dioxide should be used to fight any fires.

Almond oil; canola oil; corn oil; hydrogenated vegetable oil; peanut oil; sesame oil; soybean oil; sunflower oil.