Tung oil, as a traditional Chinese medicine, has many benefits. Let's explore the effects and original plant morphology of Tung oil together.
【Original plant morphology of Tung oil】
Tung tree is a deciduous tree that can grow up to 10 meters tall. Its bark is gray and smooth. The branches are robust, hairless, and have obvious lenticels. Tung tree leaves are oval-shaped, measuring 8-18 centimeters long and 6-15 centimeters wide. The tips are short and pointed, while the base is truncate to shallow heart-shaped. The leaves have smooth margins and are rarely lobed. The young leaves have quickly shedding soft hairs on the upper surface and gradually shedding brownish-black soft hairs on the lower surface. The mature leaves are dark green and hairless on the upper surface, and grayish-green with appressed soft hairs on the lower surface. The leaves have 5 (or 7) palmate veins, and the leaf stalks are nearly equal in length to the leaf blades. The leaf stalks have few hairs and have two flattened, sessile glands at the apex.
【Benefits and effects of Tung oil】
1. Medicinal value of Tung oil
Tung oil is believed by traditional Chinese medicine to have the effects of promoting expectoration, clearing heat and detoxifying, eliminating dampness and killing parasites, and moisturizing and promoting skin regeneration. It is mainly used for treating pharyngeal obstruction, carbuncles, scabies, boils, burns, frostbite, and chapped skin.
Tung oil is native to China and has traditionally been used for coating and protecting wood, manufacturing oilcloth, oil paper, and other waterproof materials, as well as preparing oil paste for use in external medicine.
Tung oil is an excellent drying plant oil with characteristics such as fast drying, light specific gravity, good glossiness, strong adhesion, heat resistance, acid resistance, alkali resistance, preservation, rust prevention, and non-conductivity. It has a wide range of applications.
Tung oil can be used to make oilcloth, oil paper, soap, pesticides, emetics for medical use, and insecticides, among others.
2. Industrial value of Tung oil
Tung oil is derived from the seeds of Tung trees in the Euphorbiaceae family. It undergoes oxidation and polymerization reactions in the air to form a dense lacquer film.
Tung oil is an industrial vegetable oil made by mechanically pressing and processing harvested Tung tree fruits. The entire process uses physical methods.
Tung oil is a natural plant oil and a major raw material for manufacturing paints, inks, and other products. It is widely used as waterproof, preservative, and rustproof coatings for construction, machinery, weapons, vehicles, fishing gear, and electrical appliances.
It is also used to make wood paints, inks, and synthetic resins. Tung oil has excellent waterproof properties and is widely used in construction, paint, printing (ink), agricultural machinery, and the electronics industry.
