Poppy seed oil
oil from the seeds of Papaver somniferum
Poppy seed oil (also poppyseed oil and poppy oil) is an edible oil obtained from poppy seeds (specifically seeds of Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy).
Poppy seeds yield 45–50% oil. Like poppy seeds, poppy seed oil is highly palatable, high in vitamin E, and has no narcotic properties. Poppy seeds are especially high in tocopherols other than vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol). Compared to other vegetable oils, poppy seed oil has a moderate amount of phytosterols: higher than soybean oil and peanut oil, lower than safflower oil, sesame oil, wheat germ oil, corn oil, and rice bran oil. It has little or no odor and a pleasant taste, and it is less likely than some other oils to become rancid.
Uses
The oil is sometimes used as a cooking oil; it is also used for moisturizing skin. Its primary use, however, is in the manufacture of paints, varnishes, and soaps.
Poppy seed oil is a drying oil. In oil painting, the most popular oil for binding pigment, thinning paint, and varnishing finished paintings is linseed oil.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Poppy seed oil” is oil from the seeds of Papaver somniferum. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Poppy, seed and seeds, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “oil from the seeds of Papaver somniferum” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1757003. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Poppy seed oil”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Poppy seed oil primary sources, Poppy seed oil archive and Poppy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Poppy seed oil”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Poppy seed oil” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.