AWARENESS AMONG CROATIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS ABOUT THE USE, NUTRITIONAL POTENTIAL AND RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CONSUMPTION OF HEMP SEED OIL

Sorte industrijske konoplje (Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa) odobrene za uzgoj nalaze se na sortnoj listi Europske unije, a karakterizira ih udio Δ 9 -tetrahidrokanabinola manji od 0,2 % u suhoj tvari biljke. Sjemenke industrijske konoplje sadrže 25 – 35 % ulja koje je najznačajniji proizvod njihove prerade, a udio polinezasićenih masnih kiselina u ulju seže i do 80 %. Konzumacijom ulja sjemenki konoplje postižu se brojni pozitivni učinci na zdravlje, ponajviše zbog povoljnog omjera ω-6 i ω-3 masnih kiselina. Cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati informiranost studenata hrvatskih sveučilišta o uporabi te nutritivnim i bioaktivnim svojstvima ulja sjemenki konoplje putem anketnog upitnika u online obliku. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 100 studenata obaju spolova dobi 19 – 33 godine. Ulje sjemenki konoplje nije konzumiralo 84 % ispitanika jer im je nepoznato, a konzumenti ulja većinom su se informirali o njegovim dobrobitima kod prijatelja ili poznanika. Ispitanicikonzumenti (88 %) su preferirali ulje domaćeg proizvođača, a mali je udio (6,3 %) onih koji ne obraćaju pažnju na proizvođača i ne pridaju važnost čitanju deklaracije. Gotovo 70 % ispitanika-konzumenata cijenu ulja sjemenki konoplje smatra prihvatljivom. Više od polovice ispitanika konzumira ulje rjeđe od jednom mjesečno u malim dozama, najčešće u sklopu sirovih jela. Većinu ispitanika koja je upoznata sa činjenicom da se ulje sjemenki konoplje ne konzumira zbog psihoaktivnog, već zbog antioksidacijskog učinka, čine studenti biomedicinskih i zdravstvenih, biotehničkih i prirodnih znanosti. Polovica svih ispitanika nije znala da se ulje sjemenki konoplje dobiva iz sjemena industrijske konoplje, ali 78 % svih ispitanika je informirano da je uporaba ovog ulja legalna. Samo 13 % svih ispitanika upoznato je sa činjenicom da konzumacija ulja sjemenki konoplje može u iznimnim slučajevima rezultirati pozitivnim testom na droge zbog prisutnosti THC-a, stoga je potrebna bolja zakonska regulativa za takve proizvode na tržištu kako bi se navedeni rizici smanjili.Approved strains of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa) for cultivation are on the variety list of the European Union and are characterized by the Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol content of less than 0.2% in the dry matter of the plant. Industrial hemp seeds contain 25 – 35% of oil, which is the most important product of their processing. The mass fraction of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the oil reaches up to 80%. Numerous positive health effects are achieved by consumption of hemp seed oil, mainly due to the favorable ratio of ω-6 and ω-3 fatty acids. The aim of the research was to examine the awareness among students of Croatian universities about the use and nutritional and bioactive properties of hempseed oil through an online questionnaire. The study involved 100 students of both sexes aged 19 – 33 years. Eihgty-four percent of respondents did not consume hempseed oil. Oil consumers mostly inquired about its benefits from friends or acquaintances and prefer to purchase domestic oils. There is a small proportion (6.3%) of those who do not pay attention to the manufacturer and think that reading the declaration is not important. Almost 70% of respondents consider the price of hempseed oil acceptable. More than half of the respondents consume oil less than once a month in small doses, most often as part of raw meals. The majority of respondents who are familiar with the fact that hempseed oil is not consumed because of its psychoactive, but because of its antioxidant effect, are students of biotechnical, biomedical and health studies and natural sciences. Half of the respondents did not know that hempseed oil is obtained from industrial hemp seeds, but 78% of students were informed that the use of this oil is legal. Only 13% of respondents are aware of the fact that consumption of hemp seed oil can in exceptional cases result in a positive drug test due to the presence of THC, therefore better legislation is needed for such products on the market to reduce these risks