Appearance/form: Golden/green liquid

Free fatty acid content 0 - 5%

Iodine value 64 - 95

Saponification value 180 - 205

INCI name (PCPC) Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil

CAS No: 8024-32-6

Iodine Value: between 75 and 90

Family: Lauraceae

Introduction

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a fruit native to Central America, grown in warm temperate and subtropical climates throughout the world. The pulp of this fruit contains about 60% oil, 7% skin, and approximately 2% seed [1,2]. The main producers of avocado oil in the world are New Zealand, Mexico, the United States, South Africa, and Chile(Flores et al, 2019.) Each region’s avocados have unique characteristics. Due to the shape of the fruit, native Indians would call call avocado auácatl, which means “testicles” in the nauátl (native Mexican) language. (Bio Cosmetics). I never saw them in this way before, now I can’t un-see it.

Avocado oil is used mainly as a food source, however it has also been used in the manufacture of novel natural nano emulsions emulsions, as a raw material in cosmetics products, and as a food source in the fermentation production of biodegradable polymers: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). (Flores, M, 2019) Avocado skin is used as a natural fabric dye, and will give a pink colour to garments. Natural phosopholipids, a left over from oil extraction are also used in novel emulsions.

Physical and Chemical Characteristics

The avocado is a pear shaped fruit weighing anywhere between 60 g-700 g. The pulp makes up 60-75%, from which most of the oil is extracted. The kernel contains around 1% oil and the skin, around 4%. The characteristics largely depend on the variety avocado. The New Zealand Hass variety yields the most oil due to its large amounts of flesh and high oil content. (Costagli et al 2015)

Traditionally, this oil was obtained by mashing the pulp in water, then heating and skimming off the floating oil. Later, two main methods were used to extract the oils. The first involved drying the fruit and extracting the oil using solvents. In the second method the oil is extracted from the fruits using centrifugal or pressing forces, then oil cells are submitted to mechanical and enzymatic destruction. (ibid)

Depending on the level of refinement, avocado oil can be yellow to dark green in colour; the less refined the darker the colour. It has a solidifying point of 0 Celsius and kept in the fridge it will become either fully or partially turbid. As such it needs to be brought to room temperature before use.

Health Benefits of Internal Use

Avocado is an energetic fruit with high nutritional value. It is considered a major tropical fruit because it is rich in fat soluble vitamins and proteins lacking in other fruits. It is rich in vitamins A and B, D and E. The pulp is extremely rich in oil, with similar commercial use as olive oil, due to its similar fatty acid composition. In addition, this fruit has been recognized for its health benefits, especially due to the compounds present in the lipid fraction, such as omega fatty acids, phytosterols, tocopherols, and squalene (Duarte et al, 2016)

A study of 13 healthy adults with a habitual high calorific and high oil diet, where butter was replaced with avocado oil purely from the pulp, was conducted. The inclusion of avocado oil over a period of 6 days showed an improvement in “postprandial profile of insulin, glycemia, total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, and inflammatory parameters… Avocado pulp oil (Mexican creole genotypes) has shown anti-inflammatory activity in a similar way to the drug, ibuprofen, and extra virgin olive oil” (Flores, M , 2015)

Skin and Hair Care Benefits

Wound healing is a process involving three overlapping phases: inflammation, proliferation and remodelling. In one study, avocado oil in a semi solid formulation (50% vasaline) promoted an increase in collagen synthesis and decrease the number of inflammatory cells during the process of wound healing (de Oliviera, 2013)

A 2001 study found that avocado oil mixed in vitamin B-12 cream could alleviate psoriasis symptoms for a longer period than the traditional vitamin D-3 therapy. The researchers theorize that a vitamin B-12 cream containing avocado oil could be utilized as a long-term topical treatment for psoriasis.

In skin care, the two major advantages of avocado oil are its marked softening and soothing nature and its notable absorption. For example, compared with almond, corn, olive, and soybean oils, avocado oil had the highest skin-penetration rate (Swisher, 1988)

Avocado oil is claimed to be good for tissue and massage creams, muscle oils, and other products where lubrication and penetration are essential, as it is one of the most penetrating oils available for cosmetics and soaps. It also forms finer emulsions because it reduces surface tension (Poucher, 1974). It is used in soaps to provide improved lathering, and it forms smoother creams (Human, 1987)

Conclusion

Both refined and unrefined Avocado oil can be used in formulating. Unrefined avocado oil is a rich green colour so will impart various shades of green to the product however, UV will eventually result in the colour fading. This would be classed as an instability. If you chose to use enough of the oil to turn your product green it would be better to use amber, violet miron or opaque containers to protect from UV damage. Use avocado oil up to 100% in products for dry and dehydrated skin.

References

Ahmed, N., Kermanshahi, B., Ghazani, S. M., Tait, K., Tcheng, M., Roma, A., Callender, S. P., Smith, R. W., Tam, W., Wettig, S. D., Rogers, M. A., Marangoni, A. G., & Spagnuolo, P. A. (2020). Avocado-derived polyols for use as novel co-surfactants in low energy self-emulsifying microemulsions. Scientific reports, 10(1), 5566. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-62334-y

Bhuyan, Deep J.; Alsherbiny, Muhammad A.; Perera, Saumya; Low, Mitchell; Basu, Amrita; Devi, Okram A.; Barooah, Mridula S.; Li, Chun G.; Papoutsis, Konstantinos. 2019. "The Odyssey of Bioactive Compounds in Avocado (Persea americana) and Their Health Benefits" Antioxidants 8, no. 10: 426. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8100426

Duarte, Patrícia & Chaves, Marcia & Borges, Caroline & Mendonça, Carla. (2016). Avocado: Characteristics, health benefits and uses. Ciência Rural. 46. 747-754. 10.1590/0103-8478cr20141516.

Flores, M., Saravia, C., Vergara, C. E., Avila, F., Valdés, H., & Ortiz-Viedma, J. (2019). Avocado Oil: Characteristics, Properties, and Applications. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 24(11), 2172. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24112172

Costagli, Giacomo & Betti, Matteo. (2015). Avocado oil extraction processes: Method for cold-pressed high-quality edible oil production versus traditional production. Journal of Agricultural Engineering. 46. 115. 10.4081/jae.2015.467.

de Oliveira, A. P., Franco, E., Rodrigues Barreto, R., Cordeiro, D. P., de Melo, R. G., de Aquino, C. M., E Silva, A. A., de Medeiros, P. L., da Silva, T. G., Góes, A. J., & Maia, M. B. (2013). Effect of semisolid formulation of persea americana mill (avocado) oil on wound healing in rats. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2013, 472382. https://doi.org/10.1155/2013/472382