Argan oil and its cancer chemo-preventive effects

Consumption of argan oil (Morocco) with its unique profile of fatty acids, tocopherols, squalene, sterols and phenolic compounds should confer valuable cancer chemopreventive effects

F Khallouki1, C Younos1, R Soulimani1, T Oster1, Z Charrouf2, B Spiegelhalder3, H Bartsch3 and R W Owen3

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Another point to note is that similar to olive oil, argan oil (compared to many other seasoning oils) contains relatively high contents of squalene which is suggested to be protective against skin cancer (Newmark, 1997) and enhances excretion of xenobiotics in rats and mice (Kamimura et al., 1992). The major sterols identified in argan oils were spinasterol and schottenol, in agreement with the literature data. These sterols are very rare in vegetable oils. In animal studies the effects of spinasterol are documented to be a reduction in plasma and liver cholesterol levels of mice, modulated by increasing faecal cholesterol excretion (Uchida et al., 1983). Antitumorigenic potential of spinasterol has also been demonstrated by Villasenor and Domingo (2000), whereas schottenol exhibits an anticarcinogenic and cytotoxic potential (Arizawa et al., 1985).
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