Arganier, une énigme en voie d'être résolue : portrait d'une chercheure, Zoubida Charrouf

Version anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI: Solving pieces of the argan puzzle : researcher profile, Zoubida Charrou

Helping Moroccan women preserve the argan tree at the gateway to the Sahara

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Femmes assurent la préservation de l'arganeraie aux portes du Sahar

Solving pieces of the Argan puzzle : researcher profile, Zoubida Charrouf

French version available in IDRC Digital Library: Arganier, une énigme en voie d'être résolue : profil d'une chercheuse, Zoubida Charrou

Femmes assurent la préservation de l'arganeraie aux portes du Sahara

Version anglaise disponible dans la Bibliothèque numérique du CRDI : Helping Moroccan women preserve the argan tree at the gateway to the Sahar

Vida útil de los aceites de cactus marroquí (Opuntia ficus-indica) y de argán (Argania spinosa). Estudio comparativo

Cactus seed oil is gaining considerable popularity in the cosmetic industry. To estimate cactus seed oil’ industrial as well as domestic ease of use, we investigated the oxidative stability of Moroccan cactus seed oil under accelerated aging conditions. In addition, we compared cactus seed oil stability to that of argan oil, a popular and well-established cosmetic oil, under the same conditions. Cactus seed oil is much more sensitive to oxidation than argan oil. Its shelf-life can be estimated to be no longer than 6 months at room temperature. Such instability means that the preparation process for cactus oil must be carried out with great care and cactus seed oil needs to be protected once extracted.El aceite de semillas de cactus está ganando considerable popularidad en la industria cosmética. Para estimar la facilidad de uso industrial y doméstico del aceite de semilla de cactus, investigamos la estabilidad oxidativa del aceite de semilla de cactus marroquí en condiciones de envejecimiento acelerado. Además, comparamos, bajo las mismas condiciones, la estabilidad del aceite de semilla de cactus con la del aceite de argán, otro aceite cosmético popular y bien establecido. El aceite de semilla de cactus es mucho más sensible a la oxidación que el aceite de argán. Su vida útil se puede estimar en no más de 6 meses a temperatura ambiente. Tal inestabilidad significa que los procesos preparativos del aceite de cactus deben manejarse con mucho cuidado y el aceite de semilla de cactus debe protegerse una vez extraído

Authentication of Argan (Argania spinosa L.) oil using novel DNA-based approaches: detection of olive and soybean oils as potential adulterants

Argan oil is a traditional product obtained from the fruits of the argan tree (Argania spinosa L.), which is endemic only to Morocco. It is commercialized worldwide as cosmetic and food-grade argan oil, attaining very high prices in the international market. Therefore, argan oil is very prone to adulteration with cheaper vegetable oils. The present work aims at developing novel real-time PCR approaches to detect olive and soybean oils as potential adulterants, as well as ascertain the presence of argan oil. The ITS region, matK and lectin genes were the targeted markers, allowing to detect argan, olive and soybean DNA down to 0.01 pg, 0.1 pg and 3.2 pg, respectively, with real-time PCR. Moreover, to propose practical quantitative methods, two calibrant models were developed using the normalized ΔCq method to estimate potential adulterations of argan oil with olive or soybean oils. The results allowed for the detection and quantification of olive and soybean oils within 50–1% and 25–1%, respectively, both in argan oil. Both approaches provided acceptable performance parameters and accurate determinations, as proven by their applicability to blind mixtures. Herein, new qualitative and quantitative PCR assays are proposed for the first time as reliable and high-throughput tools to authenticate and valorize argan oil.This work was supported by the FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through projects FCT/CNRST (Portugal/Morocco) (FCT/6460/6/6/2017/S) and the strategic funding of UIDB/50006/2020 | UIDP/50006/2020. This work was also funded by the European Union (EU) through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER funds through NORTE-01-0145-FEDER- 000052) and the project SYSTEMIC (Knowledge Hub on Food and Nutrition Security, ERA-Net Cofund ERA-HDHL no. 696300). J. Costa and I. Mafra thank the FCT for funding through the Individual Call to Scientific Employment Stimulus (2021.03583.CEECIND/CP1662/CT0012 and 2021.03670.CEECIND/CP1662/CT0011, respectively). L. Grazina is grateful to the FCT for the grant (SFRH/BD/132462/2017) financed by POPH-QREN (subsidized by FSE and MCTES). The authors are grateful to the Groupement des Coopératives Targanine for supplying the argan oil sample. J.S. Amaral is grateful to the FCT for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 e UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of diet and nutraceutical supplementation on inflammation in elderly people. Results from the RISTOMED study, an open-label randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Eating habits may influence the life span and the quality of ageing process by modulating inflammation. The RISTOMED project was developed to provide a personalized and balanced diet, enriched with or without nutraceutical compounds, to decrease and prevent inflammageing, oxidative stress and gut microbiota alteration in healthy elderly people. This paper focused on the effect on inflammation and metabolism markers after 56 days of RISTOMED diet alone or supplementation with three nutraceutical compounds. METHODS:A cohort of 125 healthy elderly subjects was recruited and randomized into 4 arms (Arm A, RISTOMED diet; Arm B, RISTOMED diet plus VSL#3 probiotic blend; Arm C, RISTOMED diet plus AISA d-Limonene; Arm D, RISTOMED diet plus Argan oil). Inflammatory and metabolism parameters as well as the ratio between Clostridium cluster IV and Bifidobacteria (CL/B) were collected before and after 56 days of dietary intervention, and their evolution compared among the arms. Moreover, participants were subdivided according to their baseline inflammatory parameters (erythrocytes sedimentation rate (ESR), C-Reactive Protein, fibrinogen, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alfa (TNF-α), and Interleukin 6) in two clusters with low or medium-high level of inflammation. The evolution of the measured parameters was then examined separately in each cluster. RESULTS:Overall, RISTOMED diet alone or with each nutraceutical supplementation significantly decreased ESR. RISTOMED diet supplemented with d-Limonene resulted in a decrease in fibrinogen, glucose, insulin levels and HOMA-IR. The most beneficial effects were observed in subjects with a medium-high inflammatory status who received RISTOMED diet with AISA d-Limonene supplementation. Moreover, RISTOMED diet associated with VSL#3 probiotic blend induced a decrease in the CL/B ratio. CONCLUSIONS:Overall, this study emphasizes the beneficial anti-inflammageing effect of RISTOMED diet supplemented with nutraceuticals to control the inflammatory status of elderly individuals

Detection of soybean oil as a potential adulterant of argan oil based on a novel DNA approach

Argan oil is a non-refined vegetable oil obtained from the fruits of the argan tree (Argania spinosa L.) and produced almost exclusively in the southwestern Morocco, where the argan forest is found. Different grades of argan oil are available, namely edible/food and cosmetic grades, depending on the use of roasted or raw kernels, respectively. Argan oil is considered one of the most prized oils in the world, with its demand growing worldwide mainly due to its success as an ingredient in cosmetic products. In Europe, the price of the edible grade oil is also very high as it is perceived as a luxury product [1]. Being a premium product, argan oil is highly prone to adulteration by admixing with cheaper vegetable oils or even its total substitution. Therefore, it is important to develop methodologies that can be used in the control of the authenticity of pure argan oil. Considering that several factors can affect the chemical composition of the oil, in this work novel approaches based on DNA markers are proposed to detect the presence of soybean oil as adulterant of argan oil.This work was supported by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) through projects FCT/CNRST (Portugal/Morocco) (FCT/6460/6/6/2017/S), UID/QUI/50006/2013 – POCI/01/0145/FEDER/007265 with financial support from FCT/MEC through national funds and co-financed by FEDER, under the Partnership Agreement PT2020; by projects NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000011 and FOODINTEGRITY (FP7-KBBE-2013-single-stage, No 613688). J. Costa, L. Grazina and C. Villa are grateful to FCT grants (SFRH/BPD/102404/2014, SFRH/BD/132462/2017 and PD/BD/114576/2016, respectively) financed by POPH-QREN (subsidised by FSE and MCTES).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Controlling Argan Seed Quality by NIR

The suitability of using visible/near infrared spectroscopy (Vis/NIR), as a rapid and non-destructive technique for monitoring the quality of argan seeds (Argania spinosa Skeels) was studied. The analyzed parameters were the fatty acid composition of argan seed oil, seed moisture content, seed oil content and oil stability index (OSI). The ratio between major unsaturated and saturated fatty acids (U/S) during the oxidation assay at constant temperature was studied. Values from infrared drying were used as a laboratory reference for the moisture. Argan seed oil content was determined by Soxhlet extraction. A fatty acid analysis was carried out by gas chromatography and the OSI was determined by the Rancimat test. Predictive models of argan seed moisture, ratio U/S and OSI showed good accuracy. Therefore, Vis/NIR measurements can be used for controlling several argan seed quality parameters. This procedure might be of interest to the argan oil industry, which is currently in the process of modernization and expansion.The authors are grateful to the Spanish Agency for the International Cooperation (AECID-MAE) for financing the Project A/019935/08. They also express their gratitude to the industrial plant Argan Oil Company Ltd. Morocco for the argan seed supply.Peer Reviewe