Lab test finds different results for the anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenolic extracts through extraction processes.
Dr. Mourad Kharbach, Vrije University Brussels, Belgium and 7 other scientists examined and assessed the in vivo anti-inflammatory effect of polyphenolic extracts from culinary argan oil. The two extraction processes: Mechanical pressing, and hand pressing.
We, at Culinary Argan Oil, favor cold-pressing; much more hygienic, better quality control and consistency. However, we appreciate the gift of hand pressed Argan oil as we know it’s a tedious job, meant for family use. Researchers used carrageenan to determine the anti-inflammatory potential. I had to look up carrageenan, it’s vegetable glycerin, or, more precise: a substance extracted from red and purple seaweeds, consisting of a mixture of polysaccharides. It is used as a thickening or emulsifying agent in food products.
Here is the link to the study: https://doi.org/10.1111/jfbc.13066, and here the
abstract:
” The present work examined and assessed the in vivo anti-inflammatory effect of polyphenolic extracts from Moroccan edible Argan oils, extracted by two extraction processes: Hand pressing and mechanical pressing.
Chemical properties, such as acidity, peroxide index, ultraviolet indices, total polyphenols composition, fatty acid composition, tocopherol composition, phenolic profiling, and sterol composition were studied. Then, the anti-inflammatory potential was determined by applying carrageenan, an induced paw edema test in rats. The results revealed an anti-inflammatory effect of edible Argan oil and indicated a higher efficiency of hand-pressed oil compared to mechanical-pressed oil, supporting its traditional use in human health, related to pain and inflammations. The chemical composition of these oils was evaluated, and total polyphenols, tocopherol composition, and some phenolic compounds were found highly concentrated in the hand-pressed oil.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The present study highlights and compares the in vivo anti-inflammatory effect of polyphenolic compounds, extracted from Argan oil by two processes (hand and mechanical extraction). The study demonstrated the better quality of hand-pressed oil over mechanically pressed, supporting the traditional uses of this oil in treating several inflammations and pain-related situations. Moreover, the edible Argan oil may be introduced as a regular diet and food ingredient.
In this study, we evaluated the performance of a mildly derived extract from argan by-products in microchannel emulsification (MCE). Our aim is to produce stable monodisperse O/W emulsions using this extract as a sole emulsifier. Preliminary investigations about the characteristics of argan extract indicated the potential interaction between surface-active components (i.e. saponins, proteins), in bulk phase prior to adsorption at the oil/water interface, resulting in the formation of biogenic complexes with strong interfacial properties. This is important for successful MCE as this technique depends exclusively on dynamic interfacial tension reduction for droplet formation. Nevertheless, upon performance of emulsification experiments, we also found that the complex composition of this extract could counteract its emulsifying efficiency, by creating a hydrophobic, or slightly hydrophilic, layer on the MC array plate surface. This resulted in unsuccessful emulsification using short MCs but did not affect the emulsification behavior in longer ones. Using longer MCs, we could produce stable monodisperse O/W emulsions, with similar droplet size (∼ 36 µm) and droplet size distribution (Relative span factor <0.25) to those obtained using Tween 80, and for up to 10 h of continuous emulsification”.
The versatility of the Argan Tree is well known -and appreciated. Nothing goes to waste. Read what Prof. Dr. Fouad Ghamouss, University of Tours, France and 4 scientists discovered using Argan shells.
Read their to be published study in the Journal of Energy Storage here:
Abstract
A high-performance supercapacitor electrode was obtained from waste biomass, Argan shells. This electrode was fabricated using a simple activation technique; demonstrating an industry-friendly process, which is capable of having precise control over pore size distribution of the activated carbon derived from a natural resource.
The obtained samples exhibited different pore size distributions, based on different activating agents and different activation routes used in the process. Two distinctly different pore size distributions were obtained from a single source and same synthesis routes, only by exploiting the size differences of the activating agents, which are potassium (KOH) and sodium (NaOH) ions respectively.
This process enabled a significant enhancement of specific energy, with no or very negligible change in specific power.
Thanks to the fact that there was almost no loss in ion diffusion properties within the porous network of the electrodes even after a change in the electrolytes, to the more viscous ionic liquid (Ethyl-Methyl Imidazolium Tetrafluoroborate), from comparatively less viscous aqueous and organic-based electrolytes. This size-controlled activation enabled us obtaining appropriate pore size distribution, which is a combination of a large number of micropores and a sufficient number of mesopores. This provided a very high specific surface area of 2251 m2/g with a total pore volume of 1.04 cm3/g. Very high specific capacitance of ∼179 F/g in aqueous electrolyte (0.5 M K2SO4) was obtained.
The excellent porosity resulted in a very high specific energy of ∼65 Wh/kg and a high specific power of ∼2 kW/kg in ionic liquid electrolyte for 3.5 V operating voltage.