Annual crop plant from the sweet grass family, up to three meters high, with characteristic cobs covered with seeds. Flowering time: July to September.
Originally from Central America, maize is now widely cultivated in different varieties.
Corn is used as animal feed, but also in the food industry as corn starch, corn flour or corn semolina, corn oil, but also glucose syrup, popcorn, cornflakes or peanut flips. As corn is gluten-free, corn products are suitable for gluten-sensitive patients or those with coeliac disease.
In pharmacy, corn starch is used as an excipient, e.g. in tablets, and corn oil is also used as a carrier for oily injections.
In traditional medicine, the long hairs from the corn cobs (corn stigma) are used phytotherapeutically, see Maydis strigma.
Cosmetic industry: Hydrolyzed corn starch (INCI); Dimethylimidazolidinone corn starch (INCI), Hydrogenated starch hydrolysate (INCI); Corn starch/acrylamide/sodium acrylate copolymer (INCI), s.a. Hydroxypropyl corn starch (INCI)