Argan Oil and Evaluation of Its Biological Activities

Abstract

Argania spinosa is a member of the Sapotaceae family and is an endemic tree that grows in approximately 800,000 hectares in Southwest Morocco. It is registered that the argan oil obtained from the seeds of the plant is used by the people of the region in dermatological disorders and to lighten skin color. Because of its high content of oleic acid, linoleic acid, and polyphenols has become noticeable among other fixed oil sources. Recently, it has become exceptionally preferred in the cosmetic industry and has found its place in various formulations in pure or enriched forms. Apart from dermo-cosmetic use, there are many studies on the plant's chemical contents and biological activities, primarily argan oil. In this study, biological activity and dermatological effect studies of argan oil obtained from SciFinder, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect databases were listed and evaluated in terms of cosmetic use. As a result of the evaluations, it was determined that the ethnobotanical uses of argan oil, the preparations and formulations prepared for dermocosmetic use and the compiled biological activity studies showed parallelism. In the study, case reports that argan oils used for cosmetic purposes can cause allergic reactions are also included and the need for more side/toxic effect profile studies on argan oil has been revealed.

Keywords

• Argania spinosa
• argan oil
• dermocosmetology
• biological activities
• oleic acid
• linoleic acid

Argan Yağı ve Biyolojik Aktivitelerinin Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Argania spinosa, Sapotaceae familyasının üyesi olup Güneybatı Fas bölgesinde yaklaşık 800.000 hektarlık bir alanda endemik yetişen bir ağaçtır. Bitkinin tohumlarından elde edilen argan yağının bölge halkı tarafından dermatolojik rahatsızlıklarda ve cilt rengini açmak üzere kullanıldığı kayıtlıdır. İçeriğinde yüksek oranda bulunan oleik asit, linoleik asit ve polifenoller sayesinde diğer sabit yağ kaynakları içerisinde fark edilir hale gelmiştir. Son dönemde kozmetik alanında çok tercih edilir olmuş, saf veya zenginleştirilmiş formlarda çeşitli formülasyonlarda kendine yer bulmuştur. Dermokozmetik kullanımı dışında öncelikle argan yağı olmak üzere bitkiden elde edilen drogların kimyasal içerikleri ve biyolojik aktiviteleri üzerinde çok sayıda çalışma bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, argan yağına ait, SciFinder, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect veri tabanlarından elde edilen biyolojik aktivite ve dermotolojik etki çalışmaları listelenmiş ve kozmetik kullanımı açısından değerlendirilmiştir. Yapılan değerlendirmeler sonucunda, argan yağının etnobotanik kullanımlarının, dermokozmetik kullanım için hazırlanan preparat ve formülasyonlarının ve derlenen biyolojik aktivite çalışmalarının parallelik gösterdiği saptanmıştır. Çalışmada kozmetik amaçlar için kullanılan argan yağlarının alerjik reaksiyonlara sebep olabildiğine dair vaka raporlarına da yer verilmiş ve argan yağı üzerinde daha fazla yan/toksik etki profil çalışmalarının gerekliliği ortaya konmuştur.

Keywords

• Argania spinosa
• argan yağı
• dermokozmetoloji
• biyolojik aktivite
• oleik asit
• linoleik asit

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