Triacylglycerol “hand-shape profile” of Argan oil. Rapid and simple UHPLC-PDA-ESI-TOF/MS and HPTLC methods to detect counterfeit Argan oil and Argan-oil-based products

The Safety Assessment of Cosmetic Perfumes by Using In Chemico and In Vitro Methods in Combination with GC-MS/MS Analysis

Animal testing has been prohibited for the safety assessment of cosmetic ingredients or finished products. Thus, alternative non-animal methods, followed by confirmatory clinical studies on human volunteers, should be used as the sole legally acceptable approach within the EU. The safety assessment of cosmetic products requires the involvement of multiple scientific disciplines, including analytical chemistry and biomedicine, as well as in chemico, in vitro and in silico toxicology. Recent data suggest that fragrance components may exert multiple adverse biological effects, e.g. cytotoxicity, skin sensitisation, (photo)genotoxicity, mutagenicity, reprotoxicity and endocrine disruption. Therefore, a pilot study was conducted with selected samples of fragrance-based products, such as deodorant, eau de toilette and eau de parfum, with the aim of integrating results from a number of alternative non-animal methods suitable for the detection of the following toxicological endpoints: cytotoxicity (with 3T3 Balb/c fibroblasts); skin sensitisation potential (in chemico method, DPRA); skin sensitisation potential (LuSens in vitro method, based on human keratinocytes); genotoxicity potential (in vitro Comet assay with 3T3 Balb/c cells); and endocrine disruption (in vitro YES/YAS assay). The presence of twenty-four specific known allergens in the products was determined by using GC-MS/MS. The strategies for estimation of the NOAEL of a mixture of allergens, which were proposed by the Scientific Committee on Consumer Products in their 'Opinion on Tea tree oil' document and by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in their 'Risk Profile of Tea tree oil' report, were used as models for the NOAEL estimation of the mixtures of allergens that were identified in the individual samples tested in this study.

Quality Control and Authentication of Argan Oils: Application of Advanced Analytical Techniques

In addition to the nutritional and therapeutic benefits, Argan oil is praised for its unique bio-ecological and botanic interest. It has been used for centuries to treat cardiovascular issues, diabetes, and skin infections, as well as for its anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative properties. Argan oil is widely commercialized as a result of these characteristics. However, falsifiers deliberately blend Argan oil with cheaper vegetable oils to make economic profits. This reduces the quality and might result in health issues for consumers. Analytical techniques that are rapid, precise, and accurate are employed to monitor its quality, safety, and authenticity. This review provides a comprehensive overview of studies on the quality assessment of Moroccan Argan oil using both untargeted and targeted approaches. To extract relevant information on quality and adulteration, the analytical data are coupled with chemometric techniques.

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.

Argan Oil as a Rich Source of Linoleic Fatty Acid for Dietetic Structured Lipids Production

Argan oil is rich in long-chain unsaturated fatty acids (FA), mostly oleic and linoleic, and natural antioxidants. This study addresses the production of low-calorie structured lipids by acidolysis reaction, in a solvent-free system, between caprylic (C8:0; system I) or capric (C10:0; system II) acids and argan oil, used as triacylglycerol (TAG) source. Three commercial immobilized lipases were tested: Novozym^® 435, Lipozyme^® TL IM, and Lipozyme^® RM IM. Higher incorporation degree (ID) was achieved when C10:0 was used as acyl donor, for all the lipases tested. Lipozyme^® RM IM yielded the highest ID for both systems (28.9 ± 0.05 mol.% C10:0, and 11.4 ± 2.2 mol.% C8:0), being the only catalyst able to incorporate C8:0 under the reaction conditions for biocatalyst screening (molar ratio 2:1 FA/TAG and 55 °C). The optimal conditions for Lipozyme^® RM IM in system II were found by response surface methodology (66 °C; molar ratio FA/TAG of 4:1), enabling to reach an ID of 40.9 mol.% of C10:0. Operational stability of Lipozyme^® RM IM in system II was also evaluated under optimal conditions, after eight consecutive 24 h-batches, with biocatalyst rehydration between cycles. The biocatalyst presented a half-life time of 103 h.

Review of some adulteration detection techniques of edible oils

Edible oils have economical and nutritional benefits. These oils offer nutrients that are essential to human health because they are the primary source of mono- and poly-unsaturated fats. Moreover, edible oils are used in home cooking and industrial food manufacturing. Therefore, edible oils have a considerable demand worldwide. However, some edible oils, such as olive oil, are more expensive than any other vegetable oils. Thus, oils such as olive oil are mixed with cheap edible oils as a result of the high price difference. Accordingly, adulteration in edible oils to obtain additional profit for the producer becomes a major issue of high concern for consumers. Moreover, adulteration in edible oils can cause several problems that affect consumer health. Therefore, the need for a sensitive, accurate and suitable method to detect the adulteration is highly considered. We provide a brief review of the different methods and techniques used to detect adulteration in edible oils, especially olive oil, with the aim of promoting consumer awareness of the authenticity of edible oils. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Screening Method for Argan Oil Adulteration with Vegetable Oils: An Online HPLC Assay with Postcolumn Detection Utilizing Chemometric Multidata Analysis

This study is focused on examining the tocopherol isomers (α-, γ-, and δ-) fingerprinting by online RP-HPLC analysis with post column detection using CUPRAC (cupric reducing antioxidant capacity) methodology for argan oil authenticity. The proposed online assay was validated with good precision, reproducibility, and linearity. Sixteen argan oil samples (100% pure-certified and other commercial argan oils), possible adulterating vegetable oils (i.e., olive, sunflower, corn, and soya oils), and virgin argan oil blended with olive, sunflower, corn, and soya oils at levels of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% were analyzed. Spectrophotometric CUPRAC, DPPH, and ABTS assays were applied. Discrimination of fraudulent argan oils from virgin samples was performed by utilizing orthogonal partial least-squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) regression modeling with good sensitivity and specificity. We suggested [γ-toc/α-toc] value as a new first screening adulteration factor (AF) that could be used to assess fraudulent argan oil samples. The distinct decrement in AF value was observed by the increase of adulteration rate. The AF values for virgin argan oils were ranged from 11.8 (lower limit) to 18.6 (upper limit). The presence of β-sitosterol detected in commercial argan oils (with AF values out of limit values) was evaluated as fraudulent which was in accordance with the proposed assay. Our method enabled the detection of argan oil samples at adulteration levels of >5% in the case of sunflower, olive, and soya oils, >15% in the case of corn oil. This method may be an alternative and specific assay for the authentication and quality detection of commercial argan oils.