Almond Oil, Sweet

Appearance/form: straw like / golden

Saponification Value: 190-200

SAP VALUE (NaOH): 0.139

SAP VALUE (KOH): 0.195

INCI: Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil

CAS No: 8007-69-0 / 90320-37-9

Iodine Value: 93-110

Family: Rosaceae

Extraction: Cold Pressed

Introduction

Almond, also known as Prunus Amygdalus, belongs to family Rosaceae. Almonds are edible, and the oil is used widely in the food and cosmetics industry throughout the world. It is native to Iran and the surrounding countries but then spread to the Mediterranean shores, northern Africa and southern Europe. According to FAO the annual commercial production is, on average, 3 million tons. The leaders in production are USA, Spain and Australia. 

The oil is extracted from the kernels by cold press or simple temperature press method. In this method the kernels are separated and cleaned. These are placed in high temperature to release the oil from the kernel (Roncero et al., 2016).

Physicochemical Properties

Sweet almond oil is pale-yellow and odorless liquid with a typical nutty taste. Chemical properties of almond depend upon genotype and environmental factors such as region/location, cultivation methods, harvesting year etc. They are rich in nutrients with relatively high levels of vitaminE, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, riboflavin and fiber. They also contain phenolic and polyphenolic compounds (Abdallah A, Ahumada MH, Gradziel TM. 1998).

Almonds have a high lipid content; fresh kernels contain 44-61% oil and dry kernels contain 20-40% oil.  The major fatty acid is oleic acid which constitutes about 50-70% of total content. Linoleic is also present. (Askin M, Baltab M et al, 2007)

There is approximately 200mg/100g sterols in sweet almond oil Francisc et al (2010) composing of the following fractions:

Beta Sitosterol 73.0 - 87.0 %

Campesterol Max. 5.0 %

Stigmasterol Max. 4.0 %

7-stigmasterol Max. 4.0 %

The anti-inflammatory effects of the oil are thought to be down to the high levels of beta sitosterol.

Almonds and Health

It has been suggested that consuming almonds can reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering total and LDL cholesterol as well as exerting anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Plant sterols found in almonds appear to interfere with the absorption of cholesterol and bile acid and the high level of unsaturated fats balance and improve the blood lipid profile, especially when almonds replace foods high in refined carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids. The phytonutrients in almond oil also encourages the growth of beneficial gut microbes.  Controlled trials have shown that nut intake can decrease inflammation, promote healthy blood vessels, and reduce insulin resistance. [Guasch-Ferré M et al, 2017]

Cosmetic Uses

Almond oil is a non irritating ((Wilma F. Bergfeld  et al, 2011), highly effective occlusive oil; studies have found it to have a greater impact on trans epidermal water loss than the industry standard, petroleum (COSSMA, 2012)

It has emollient sclerosant properties which can improve complexion and skin tone (Lin, T. K., Zhong, L., & Santiago, J. L. ,2017). Some sources suggest that almond oil reduces stretch marks, however the only evidence of this was a non-randomised study that demostrated that massage with bitter almond oil for 15 minutes during pregnancy can reduce the development of striae gravidarum but that the almond oil had no effect by itself. The authors concluded, ‘It is recommended that pregnant woman be informed about the positive effects of massage allied with almond oil early during their pregnancy.’

A few studies have shown that products containing almond oil ameliorate itching of striae and preventing its progression (Korgavkar K., Wang F., 2015)

Sweet almond oil has a natural SPF of around 5 and is a useful UV filter ( Lucia Montenegro et al, 2019) and a study by Saltana et al (2007) done with murine (rodent) models found that almond oil prevented the structural damage caused by UV radiation.

Comments

Sweet almond oil is a long oil, in that it is very oily and a small amount will take a while to dissipate. It leaves a very glossy finish to skin. Use 1-10% in most formulations. I find using a few percent will add extra slip to products.

References

Roncero, Jose & Alvarez-Orti, Manuel & Pardo-Giménez, Arturo & Gómez, R. & Rabadán, Adrián & Pardo, J.. (2016). Virgin almond oil: Extraction methods and composition. Grasas y Aceites. 67. e143. 10.3989/gya.0993152.

Abdallah A, Ahumada MH, Gradziel TM. 1998. Oil content and fatty acid composition of almond kernels from different genotypes and California production regions. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sc. 123, 1029–1033.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332957892_Almond_Prunus_dulcis_oil

Aparicio R, Aparicio-Ruız R. 2000. Authentication of vegetable oils by chromatographic techniques. J. Chromatogr. 88, 93–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0021-9673(00)003551

Askin M, Baltab M, Tekintasc F, Kazankayab A, Balta F. 2007. Fatty acid composition affected by kernel weight in almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) genetic resources. J. Food Compos. Anal. 20, 7–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jfca.2006.06.005

Wilma F. Bergfeld  et al (2011)Plant-Derived Fatty Acid Oils as Used in Cosmetics, Cosmetic Ingredient Review

Lucia Montenegro et al (2019) Use of Vegetable Oils to Improve the Sun Protection Factor of Sunscreen Formulations, Department of Drug Sciences, University of Catania

(Guasch-Ferré M, Liu X, Malik VS, Sun Q, Willett WC, Manson JE, Rexrode KM, Li Y, Hu FB, Bhupathiraju SN. Nut consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2017 Nov 21;70(20):2519-32.

Lin, T. K., Zhong, L., & Santiago, J. L. (2017). Anti-Inflammatory and Skin Barrier Repair Effects of Topical Application of Some Plant Oils. International journal of molecular sciences, 19(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19010070

Korgavkar K., Wang F. Stretch marks during pregnancy: A review of topical prevention. Br. J. Dermatol. 2015;172:606–615. doi: 10.1111/bjd.13426

Sultana Y., Kohli K., Athar M., Khar R.K., Aqil M. Effect of pre-treatment of almond oil on ultraviolet B-induced cutaneous photoaging in mice. J. Cosmet. Dermatol. 2007;6:14–19. doi: 10.1111/j.1473-2165.2007.00293

Francisc, Dulf & Unguresan, M.L. & Vodnar, Dan & Socaciu, Carmen. (2010). Free and Esterified Sterol Distribution in Four Romanian Vegetable Oil. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca. 10.15835/nbha3824753.