- Health and Skincare
- Properties of Argan Skincare Oil
- Culinary Uses
- Properties of Argan Food Oil
- About the Argan Tree
- "Argan Oil" An article by Dr. Mark Nesbitt and Ruth Hajioff
- Argan Lowers LDL and Confers Antioxidant Properties
- The Argan Tree (Argania sideroxylon, Sapotaceae), A Desert Source of Edible Oil
- Effects of Argan Oil on HDL & LDL
- Consumption of argan oil (Morocco) with its unique profile of fatty acids, tocopherols, squalene, sterols and phenolic compounds should confer valuable cancer chemopreventive effects
- Argan (Argania spinosa) Oil Lowers Blood Pressure
- Comparative Study with Argan and Olive Oils
- Secondary Metabolites of Argan Oil May Have Disease Prevention Properties
Health and Skincare
Argan skincare oil is traditionally used by Berber women to nourish their hair, skin and nails. A pure natural skin food, rich in vitamin E and antioxidants, argan can be used as a nourishing facial treatment and night oil to protect the skin from the damaging effects of free-radicals and reduce fine lines. Ideal as a skin protector in cold weather and to soften dry patches anywhere on the body.
Argan is not greasy, only a few drops warmed on the fingertips are needed to moisturize and protect the complexion including the delicate skin under the eyes.
Try Lavender Argan as an after sun soother and moisturizer. To strengthen nails and soften cuticles, apply nightly. Try it on your hands too at night to keep your skin silky soft.
Use Baby Blend sparingly twice daily for skin problems such as dry eczema, acne, psoriasis, to soften scars and help prevent stretch marks .Ideal for massage, even safe for babies to comfort their sore dry patches or cradle cap.
Its anti-inflammatory properties help combat painful rheumatic joints, aching muscles or sports injuries. Our Soothe Aching Muscles blend has been created to utilize these properties combined with the pain relieving benefits of nigella.
To restore dry damaged hair rub a small amount of Hair Repair Blend into the hair starting at the ends. For dry scalp or psoriasis massage into the roots too. Leave on for half an hour, or, for very dry hair overnight, then shampoo out. It will leave your hair soft and manageable.
Try Bath and Body Blend- an infusion of Argan with Moroccan herbs for a luxurious aromatherapy bath. Add a capful to the bath and pat the body dry gently, or apply to damp skin after a shower to lock in moisture. Your skin will be gently moisturized.
Properties of Argan Skincare Oil
Wild Wood Groves argan skin care oil is a rich, nourishing and moisturizing skin food containing no artificial colouring, perfumes or preservatives to irritate the skin.
For centuries argan has been a well-kept secret known only to Berber women in Morocco who use it to nourish their skin, hair and nails.
Argan's anti-ageing properties, due to high levels of Vitamin E and saponins (which soften the skin) are well documented. It helps to reduce wrinkles by restoring the skin's water lipid layer and it also cools and soothes inflammation. Its antioxidant properties contribute to the neutralization of free radicals, particularly useful in the polluted Western hemisphere. It helps cool skin that has been exposed to wind and the sun and also protects it in cold weather.
Traditionally used in Morocco (ref: Bellakhdar 1997) to soothe dry eczema, chicken pox, acne and psoriasis, it can also help to reduce scarring and prevent stretch marks. Try our Baby Blend for problem or ultra sensitive skin.
Argan is not greasy, only a few drops warmed on the fingertips are needed to moisturize and protect the complexion including the delicate skin under the eyes.
It soothes inflammation massaged into painful areas, either due to muscular strain or arthritic or rheumatic joint pain. Try our Soothe Aching Muscles Blend with argan & nigella.
Suitable for all the family, there are blends for everyone. Due to the the naturally high Vitamin E levels found in argan there is no need for preservatives in our oils.
Do not apply to broken or weeping skin.
Culinary Uses
Argan oil has a rich nutty flavour, and is usually used as a finishing touch for cooked food, especially grilled fish or chicken and roasted vegetables. Delicious on grilled peppers, tomato salad, or carrot salad, it makes an excellent salad dressing, with or without lemon juice. Try adding it to soups as a rich finishing touch, or drizzled over grilled goats cheese. Also tastes great on porridge with honey or in thick yoghurt.
Have a look at our recipes section for more inspiration.
In Morocco argan oil is usually eaten by Berber families as a breakfast dip or tea-time treat for home made bread, or, as Amlou, a delicious spread made of argan oil, nuts and honey. We use only organic crushed almonds, argan oil and honey. Rich in essential fatty acids and minerals magnesium and potassium. Amlou is a truly heart-healthy start to the day! Try it on toast, porridge or thick yoghurt.
Wild Wood Groves saffron comes from Taliouine in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco – the finest in the country. Harvested at the beginning of winter before sunrise, each crocus flower yields three stamens which are gently collected by hand –200 being needed for a single gram. Our saffron is so intense that a little goes a long way. Using only two or three strands allows its scent and flavour to fully unfold in the dish. Try in paella, tagines rice or Cornish Saffron Cake.
From Here's Health June 2002, "Healthy Heart Action Plan":
The Food Doctor, Ian Marber says, "Vitamin E protects the heart but it's found in fatty foods and, as many people avoid fat they may be missing out."
Argan oil, traditionally used in Morocco to help with heart disease and high cholesterol, is rich in EFA's and vitamin E.
Properties of Argan Food Oil
Wild Wood Groves argan oil is produced from the finest quality seeds and fully analyzed. It is cold-pressed and extra-virgin.
The health giving properties of argan oil were first documented in writings by the renowned Egyptian physician, Ibn Al Baytar in 1219. Traditionally prescribed as a choleteric, hepatoprotective agent, and in cases of hypercholesterolaemia and atherosclerosis (Journal of Ethnopharmacology 67 (1999) Prof. Z. Charrouf, D.Guillaume). Also believed to have tonic and aphrodisiac properties.
Argan oil contains twice as much vitamin E as olive oil and is rich in antioxidants. It is 80% unsaturated, containing eight essential fatty acids including 34-36% linoleic acid (omega 6), which cannot be made in the body and must therefore be obtained from the diet. Argan oil also contains rare plant sterols not found in other oils, which have anti-inflammatory properties, beneficial for arthritic or rheumatic conditions.
Essential Fatty Acids affect cell fluidity, helping to prevent loss of moisture from the skin, and linings of the nose, lungs, digestive system, and brain. They also play a part in the formation of prostaglandins, of which some reduce pain and swelling, while others reduce blood viscosity, improving circulation, lowering cholesterol levels, blood pressure and decreasing the risk of heart attacks.
| Fatty acid content analysis of argan oil (%) | |
|---|---|
| Myristic acid | 0.1 |
| Palmitic acid | 13.4 |
| Palmitoleic acid | 0.1 |
| Margaric acid | 0.1 |
| Stearic acid | 5.8 |
| Oleic acid | 44.8 |
| Linoleic acid | 34.7 |
| Linolenic acid | 0.2 |
| Arachidic acid | 0.4 |
| Gadoleic acid | 0.3 |
| Behenic acid | 0.1 |
| Lignoceric acid | 0.1 |
We store our oil in frosted bottles to preserve its health giving properties and protect it from light. In order to best maintain these properties, it is best to add argan oil to dishes after cooking, as a delicious finishing touch, and to store it away from direct sunlight.
If you have a nut allergy check with your doctor before use.
About the Argan Tree
The argan tree (Argania Spinosa) is truly fascinating and unique, believed to date back to the Tertiary period. It once covered North Africa and parts of Southern Europe. It was first reported by the explore Leo Africanus in 1510. An early specimen was taken to Amsterdam and then cultivated by Lady Beaufort at Badminton c.1711. Now only 860,000 hectares remain in S.W. Morocco and these are declining at a rate of 50,000 hectares per year. Measures are being put in place to protect this rare and endangered species and in 1999 the argan was listed as a UNESCO Biosphere Heritage.
We believe that providing a fair income from producing argan oil from the seeds encourages protection of the tree which has been used in the past for building purposes or as charcoal. For this reason our logo has been designed using the argan tree as its central focus and our hope is that future generations will be able to support themselves from their unique heritage. This tree can support the local population and its livestock during drought periods; The fruit sustains goats, the leaves provide forage for camels and sheep, whilst cattle live off the press cake that remains after the oil is made.
The argan grows wild in arid semi-desert conditions. It plays an essential ecological function in that it protects the soil against heavy rain and wind induced erosion. It provides shade while its roots bind the soil helping to protect against further desertification and the northern advance of the Sahara. It can absorb carbon dioxide and protect the environment. During times of very low rainfall it has the ability to lie dormant, and to regenerate when the rains come also surviving temperatures of up to 50°C.
Argan trees can have a single trunk, or a number of twisted, thickened stems and can grow up to a height of 10 metres. They yield the most fruit after 50-60 years surviving for 200-250 years, making the Argan Groves a valuable inheritance for future generations.
The argan tree flowers in the spring producing green olive-sized fruits that ripen to yellow. When they have dried in late summer they fall to the ground and are hand gathered. Argan trees are generally found on common land and belong to the Moroccan Forestry Commission. Families have hereditary gathering rights for specific areas close to where they live. Animals are forbidden to graze in the Argan Groves for three months before the harvest. The sharp spiny thorns prevent the fruit being picked by hand, but in the past this did not stop large number of goats clambering to the topmost branches to devour them, so much so, that the argan groves were known as tree meadows. However, nowadays the goats are kept out by forestry wardens and their owners are fined if they stray!
The seeds are in very hard casings inside the fruit layer. These are cracked open by hand by Berber women between a stone and a stone anvil. It takes 10-12 hours to crack enough nuts to obtain sufficient seeds to yield one litre of oil. The fruit pulp can then be fed to goats and the second-grade oil is used for burning in lamps. Finally the remaining seed pulp is fed to cattle. The casings are used as kindling or as fuel in clay bread ovens, as they can burn for 30 minutes. Nothing is wasted.
There is an argan tree in the temperate house at Kew, visit: www.rbgkew.org.uk for more information.
Find out more about the argan tree at Wikipedia.
"Argan Oil" An article by Dr. Mark Nesbitt and Ruth Hajioff
(This article originally appeared in Prospect Books PPC 67 June 2001)
Andrew Dalby (PPC 65) is quite correct in stating that argan oil (a more usual spelling than argon) comes from the argan tree of Morocco, Argania spinosa. This tree grows wild in abundance in the calcareous semi-desert of southwestern Morocco, taking the place of olive as a source of forage, oil, timber and fuel in Berber society. The trees give an average yield of fruit of 8 kg per year. The olive-sized fruits have a thick, bitter peel surrounding a sweet-smelling but unpleasantly flavoured layer of pulpy pericarp. This surrounds the very hard nut, which contains one (occasionally two or three) small, oil-rich seeds. The fruits fall when black and dry, in July; until then, goats are kept out of the argan woodlands by wardens. Rights to collect fruit are closely controlled by law and by village traditions. The leaves are an important browse after harvest. Villagers agree that fruits were and sometimes are gathered after consumption by goats, as mentioned by Andrew Dalby, but this is not the case for oil produced for the market.
The most labour intensive part of oil-extraction is removal of the soft pulp (used as animal feed) and the cracking by hand, between two stones, of the hard nut. The seeds are then removed and gently roasted. This roasting accounts for part of the oil's distinctive, nutty flavour. The traditional technique for oil extraction is to grind the roasted seeds to paste, with a little water, in a stone rotary quern. The paste is then squeezed between hands to extract the oil. The extracted paste is still oil-rich and is used as animal feed. Oil produced by this method will keep 3—6 months, and will be produced as needed in a family, from a store of the kernels, which will keep for 20 years unopened. Dry-pressing is now increasingly important for oil produced for sale, as the oil will keep 12—18 months and extraction is much faster.
The oil contains 80% unsaturated fatty acids, is rich in essential fatty acids and is more resistant to oxidation than olive oil. Argan oil is used for dipping bread, on couscous, salads and similar uses. A dip for bread known as amlou is made from argan oil, almonds and peanuts, sometimes sweetened by honey or sugar. The unroasted oil is traditionally used as a treatment for skin diseases, and has found favour with European cosmetics manufacturers.
The future of the argan tree is a matter of grave concern. Demand for charcoal has led to destruction of at least half the arganeraie forests in the last hundred years, and charcoal-making, grazing, and increasingly intensive cultivation all threaten the argan trees today. They now cover some 828,000 ha and are designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Perhaps the best hope of conservation of this fascinating, multipurpose tree, is indeed its oil. Sold in Morocco as a luxury item (although difficult to find outside the region of production), and of increasing interest to cosmetics companies in Europe, the oil is produced by several women's co-operatives in the region, as mentioned by Gert von Paczensky (PPC 66). The argan tree is endemic to Morocco, but cultivation trials are now under way in the Negev desert of Israel. A wide range of argan products is available from an online retailer in Paris (http://www.lutecium.org/argania/sommaire.htm), and one of us (RH) is now importing argan oil to the UK. Several trees can be viewed in zone 24 of the Temperate House at Kew.
Further reading: H.D.V. Prendergast & C.C. Walker (1992) "The argan: multipurpose tree of Morocco", Kew Magazine 9(2): 76-85; J.F. Morton & G.L. Voss (1987) "The argan tree (Argania sideroxylon, Sapotataceae), a desert source of edible oil", Economic Botany 41(2): 221-233. M'Hirit et al., 1998 L'arganier: une espèce fruitière-forestière à usages multiples, Pierre Mardaga, Hayen, 11-4140, Sprimont, Belgium, price 97 FF (available from www.amazon.fr). Website: http://www.casanet.net.ma/arganier.
Our addresses are Mark Nesbitt, Centre for Economic Botany, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AE; email: m.nesbitt@rbgkew.org.uk; Ruth Hajioff, 6 Wildwood Grove, London NW3 7HU; email: ruth@wildwoodgroves.com
Mark Nesbitt sent later a copy of an article in The New York Times for 3 January 2001 by Florence Fabricant, "A New Oil (Keep the Goats Away)". "The import might even eclipse white truffle oil in the drizzle department," she reports – hot news from the pantries of the most swish American restaurants. Suppliers of the oil (and of the honey from the argan blossom as well as amalou, a sweet argan paste) in New York are detailed as follows: Fairway, 2127 Broadway and 2328 12th Avenue; Todaro Brothers, 555 Second Avenue; and Citarella, 2135 Broadway and 1313 Third Avenue. The British are not too far behind: argan oil was described by Matthew Fort in The Guardian in February or March.
Argan Lowers LDL and Confers Antioxidant Properties
Background: Virgin argan oil is of interest in cardiovascular risk prevention due to its fat composition and antioxidant compounds.
Aims: We investigated with Moroccan subjects the effect of regular virgin argan oil consumption on lipid profile and antioxidant status and the in vitro effect of argan oil minor compounds (tocopherols, sterols and polyphenols) on LDL peroxidation.
Design: Healthy subjects (20 men, 76 women) were studied. Sixty-two were regular consumers of argan oil and 34 were non-consumers.
Methods: Fasting plasma lipids, antioxidant vitamins and LDL oxidation susceptibility were analyzed. In vitro LDL oxidation by phenolic and apolar compounds of virgin argan oil were performed.
Results: Diet composition of argan oil consumers has a higher significant content of polyunsaturated fatty acids than that of non-consumers (8.8±1.0 vs. 6.6±0.9g, P<0.05).
Subjects consuming argan oil have lower levels of plasma LDL cholesterol (12.7%, P<0.05) and Lp(a) (25.3%, P<0.05) compared with the non-consumers. In argan oil consumers, plasma lipoperoxides were lower (58.3%, P<0.01) and molar ratio α-tocopherol/total cholesterol (21.6%, P<0.05) and α-tocopherol concentration (13.4%, P<0.05) were higher compared with the non-consumers group.
In spite of higher levels of plasma antioxidant and lower levels of lipoperoxides in argan oil consumers, LDL oxidation susceptibility remained fairly similar. A strong positive correlation was observed between increasing phenolic extract, sterol and tocopherol concentrations and the LDL-Lag phase (P<0.05).
Conclusions: Our findings suggest for the first time that regular consumption of virgin argan oil induces a lowering of LDL cholesterol and has antioxidant properties. This oil offers an additional natural food to reducing cardiovascular risk.
Copyright © 2003 Elsevier Inc.
The Argan Tree (Argania sideroxylon, Sapotaceae), A Desert Source of Edible Oil
JULIA F. MORTON 2 AND GILBERT L VOSS 3
The argan tree, Arganla slderoxylon Roem & Schult (A spmosa (L ) Matre), of the family Sapotaceae, essential to the dwellers of south-western Morocco and long admired by explorers and travellers, has remained little known to botanists and horticulturists.
Outside its natural area It is slow growing and long lived. On calcareous soil The young seedlings furnish almost the only forage for goats and other herbivores during several months of the year and the animals relish the flesh of the abundant fruits. The ejected seeds yield a yellow oil commonly consumed as human food.
Among its constituents are four sterols, two methylsterols, and five triterpentc alcohols. The wood is hard, prized locally, and much used for fuel.
Excessive exploitation of the tree has stimulated local moves toward conservation and cultivation.
Argan seedlings are being grown experimentally at the U.S.D.A Subtropical Horticulture Research Unit, Miami, and by Victor Wynne in Haiti, with a view to trial in semi-arid regions of near-Mediterranean climate. In English greenhouse culture, vegetable propagation has been achieved by cuttings and layers.
Despite widespread Interest in edible oils and crops for and lands, the useful argan tree, Argama stderoxylon Roem. & Schult (syn. A spmosa (L.) Mmre), has remained fairly obscure beyond its native range. It is the only species in its genus, a member of the sapodilla family (Sapotaceae), which embraces a number of trees well known for their economic value.
DESCRIPTION
The argan tree--also known as arga, arganla, arganler (Bols 1934, Emberger 1925, Jaccard 1926, Malre 1939, Vanden-Berghe 1889), ardjan (Jardln 1967), iron-wood (Aubln 1906), or Morocco iron-wood (Hednck 1919) may be shrubby or up to 4.5 or 9 m, occasionally attaining 21 m with a main trunk circumference of 6 m, though the average height is 2.75 to 3 m.
Mare trunks may be a fusion of several interlaced stems. The rough bark is grooved longitudinally and transversely.
The trees grow in dense clumps with a total canopy spread of 30 to 60 m. The branches are spiny alternate, clustered, and simple, the leaves are bright green when young, dark green on both surfaces when mature, conspicuously veiny, oblong-spatulate to oblanceolate, wedge shaped at the base, 2 to 2 5 cm long, 8 mm wide, leathery, hairless, and sessile or nearly so.
In the axils of the spines and leaves are small clusters of sessile, greenish flowers about 5 mm wide, each flower subtended by two bracts, the corolla is bell shaped and deeply five-lobed, the five hairy sepals are slightly connate at the base.
The five stamens, slightly protruding, alternate with five stammodes.
Effects of Argan Oil on HDL & LDL
Argan oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, tocopherol and phenolic compounds. These protective molecules make further study of its cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) action interesting. Furthermore, no previous study has explored the antioxidant activity of argan oil in comparison with olive oil.
The present study was conducted to evaluate the beneficial properties of Virgin argan oil phenolic extracts (VAO-PE) towards CVD by: (A) protecting human (low-density lipoprotein, LDL) against lipid peroxidation and (B) promoting high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-mediated cholesterol efflux.
Human LDLs were oxidized by incubation with CuSO4 in the presence of different concentrations of VAO-PE (0–320μg/ml).
LDL lipid peroxidation was evaluated by conjugated diene and MDA formation as well as Vitamin E disappearance. Incubation of LDL with VAO-PE significantly prolonged the lag-phase and lowered the progression rate of lipid peroxidation (P<0.01) and reduced the disappearance of Vitamin E in a concentration-dependent manner.
Incubation of HDL with VAO-PE significantly increased the fluidity of the HDL phospholipidic bilayer (P=0.0004) and HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux from THP-1 macrophages.
These results suggest that Virgin argan oil provides a source of dietary phenolic antioxidants, which prevent cardiovascular diseases by inhibiting LDL-oxidation and enhancing reverse cholesterol transport. These properties increase the anti-atherogenic potential of HDL.
Consumption of argan oil (Morocco) with its unique profile of fatty acids, tocopherols, squalene, sterols and phenolic compounds should confer valuable cancer chemopreventive effects
Research Papers
European Journal of Cancer Prevention. 12(1):67-75, February 2003.
Khallouki, F 1; Younos, C 1; Soulimani, R 1; Oster, T 1; Charrouf, Z 2; Spiegelhalder, B 3; Bartsch, H 3; Owen, R W 3
Abstract:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the fatty acids, tocopherols, squalene, sterols and phenolic antioxidants in three types of argan oil (Moroccan food, Moroccan aesthetic and a French commercial variety) along with a basic comparison with extra virgin olive and sunflower oil.
The fatty acid profiles in the argan oils were very similar, with oleic acid (43%) and linoleic acid (36%) and their respective monoacylglycerols predominating. The major vitamer identified was [gamma]-tocopherol with a mean of 483+/-11 mg/kg, in contrast to [alpha]-tocopherol, which is the major vitamer in olive (190+/-1 mg/kg) and sunflower oil (532+/-6 mg/kg).
The squalene content of the argan oils was very similar with a mean of 313+/-4 mg/100 g, which is lower than that of the olive oil (499 mg/100 g) but significantly higher than in the sunflower oil (6 mg/100 g).
In contrast to olive and sunflower oils in which [beta]-sitosterol is predominant, the major sterols detected in the argan oils were schottenol (mean 147+/-10 mg/kg) and spinasterol (mean 122+/-10 mg/kg).
The only phenolic compounds other than the tocopherol vitamers which could be readily detected and quantitated were vanillic, syringic and ferulic (probably conjugated to glucose) acids along with tyrosol.
In contrast to the extra virgin olive oil (793 mg/kg), the concentration of total phenolic compounds is extremely low (<5.0 mg/kg). Nevertheless, argan oil with its high content of the vitamer [gamma]-tocopherol, squalene and oleic acid is likely to enhance the cancer prevention effects of the Moroccan diet.
Argan (Argania spinosa) oil lowers blood pressure and improves endothelial dysfunction in spontaneously hypertensive rats
British Journal of Nutrition. 92(6):921-929, December 2004.
Berrougui, Hicham 1; Alvarez de Sotomayor, Maria 2,*; Perez-Guerrero, Concepcion 2; Ettaib, Abdelkader 1; Hmamouchi, Mohamed 1; Marhuenda, Elisa 2; Herrera, Maria Dolores 2
Traditionally hand-pressed argan oil, obtained from Argania spinosa seeds, is eaten raw in south-west Morocco; its rich composition of tocopherols, MUFA and PUFA make a study of its actions on risk factors for CVD, such as hypertension, interesting. The effects of 7 weeks of treatment with argan oil (10 ml/kg) on the blood pressure and endothelial function of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats were investigated.
Systolic blood pressure and heart rate were measured every week by the tail-cuff method and endothelial function was assessed by carbachol (10-8 to 10-4 M)-induced relaxations of aortic rings and small mesenteric arteries pre-contracted with phenylephrine. Argan-oil administration reduced the mean blood pressure of SHR after the fifth week of treatment (P < 0·05) and increased (P < 0·01) the endothelial responses of arteries from SHR.
The NO synthase inhibitor, L-N-[omega]-nitroarginine (3x10-5 M) revealed a greater participation of NO in the relaxant effect after the treatment.
When cyclooxygenase (COX) was blocked with indomethacin (10-5 M), an involvement of COX products in the endothelium-dependent response was characterized.
Enzyme immunoassay of thromboxane B2 showed a significant decrease (P < 0·05) in the release of thromboxane A2 in both aorta and small mesenteric artery after argan-oil treatment of SHR. Experiments in the presence of the thromboxane A2-prostaglandin H2 receptor antagonist ICI 192,605 (10-5 M) confirmed this result.
Results after incubation with the antioxidants superoxide dismutase and catalase suggested that a decreased oxidative stress might contribute to explain the beneficial effects of argan oil treatment.
Copyright © 2004 The Nutrition Society
Comparative Study with Argan and Olive Oils
Background and aim:
Due to its high antioxidant and mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acid content virgin argan oil (VAO) could play a beneficial role in cardiovascular prevention. We were therefore interested in determining whether the consumption of VAO could improve plasma paraoxonase (PON1) activities and antioxidant status in healthy men.
Methods and results:
Sixty young men were included in this interventional study.
They were given a controlled diet for 2 weeks as baseline and then received 25g/day of butter.
The group was randomised to two diet group periods of 3 weeks each.
The VAO group received 25ml/day of oil and the extra virgin olive oil (EVO) group received the same quantity of EVO as control group.
Plasma PON1 activities, antioxidant vitamins and LDL susceptibility to oxidation were measured.
The analysis of the results shows that PON1 activities increase significantly in both groups and that lipoperoxides and conjugated dienes formation decreases significantly in VAO and EVO groups compared to baseline values (P=0.001 and P=0.014, respectively).
Vitamin E concentration increases significantly only in VAO group (P=0.007). Susceptibility of LDL to lipid peroxidation shows a significant increase in lag phase and a significant decrease in maximum diene production in VAO (P=0.005) and EVO groups (P=0.041 and P=0.005, respectively).
Conclusions:
Our findings confirm the beneficial effect of EVO on plasma antioxidant status and show for the first time the same effect for VAO supplementation in man. Thus, VAO offers an additional natural food supplement to reduce cardiovascular risk.
Secondary metabolites of the argan tree (Morocco) may have disease prevention properties
Khallouki F, Spiegelhalder B, Bartsch H and Owen RW* Division of Toxicology and Cancer risk Factors, Im Neunheimer Feld, 280, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ),Heidelberg, Germany
Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB
ISSN 1684–5315 © 2005 Academic Journals
The argan tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels) is native to Morocco, where after the holly oak it constitutes the second most common tree in the country.
Recent studies suggest that dietary argan oil, an endemic seed oil from argan fruits, may have a relevant role in disease prevention, and its consumption could protect against atherosclerosis and cancer.
Unfortunately, in less than a century, more than a third of the forest has disappeared. It is therefore imperative to improve the tree's production potential so that it can regain its key position in the agricultural systems of the region. On the basis of ethnobotanical knowledge, researchers are screening metabolites of this rare plant to identify bioactive compounds for the development of new therapeutic agents and food supplements.
This includes studies on secondary metabolites with chemopreventive activities. In this review, a complete outline of components triglycerides, unsaponifiable, phenolic antioxidants and aroma constituents) are described. Finally, a discussion of the biological functions of the polar and non-polar A. spinosa products which have been evaluated using a range of in vitro bioassays are described.
INTRODUCTION
The argan tree (Argania spinosa) is an oleaginous tree indigenous to the Sahara dessert, the Anti-Atlas and the High Atlas Mountains of southwestern Morocco. According to Boukhobza et al. (1988), the appearance of argan trees dates from the tertiary era, when it was widespread throughout Morocco.
Etymologically, the words argan (the tree) come from the Berber word "arjân" which, derives from the "rajnah" which, means in Berber dialect “to remain locked up” in a limited place. In fact the argan tree is endemic to Morocco.
The argan tree belongs to the family of Sapotaceae which contains eight genera: Syderoxylon, Tsebona, Bumelia, Argania, Chrysophyllum, Pouteria, calocapum and Pycnandra. The genus Argania consists of only one endemic species: Argania spinosa (syn. Argania syderoxylon L, Sideroxylon spinosum L Elaerandron argan Retz).
The argan tree can reach heights of up to 10 meters and survives for about 200 years.
These trees have an amazing ability to adapt to the climate of southwestern Morocco. A thorny, evergreen tree with small, green, lanceolate leaves; sheds its leaves and becomes dormant during severe droughts.
The dormancy period, which can last for several years, is broken when the trees sense moisture in the air and refoliation begins.