Camellia

The camellia flower belongs to the Theaceae family, a botanical family found widely across eastern Asia, specifically in central and southern China. In China, camellia oil was reserved for royal families. Towards the end of the 18th century, the camellia flower gained a huge rise in popularity in France (via England). The Empress Josephine de Beauharnais made the flower even more popular by growing it at her home, the Château de Malmaison. Modern medicine has confirmed that drinking camellia oil could help reduce cholesterol, improve resistance to oxidative stress and protect the liver from certain toxins. Camellia oil is also among the oils recommended by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, given its high nutritional qualities. The oil contains fatty acids similar to those in olive oil, with a high level of oleic and linoleic acids, as well as very little saturated fatty acids. This is why camellia oil is often referred to as ‘the olive oil of the East’.