Morocco’s forests contain important wealth, which helps the country economically. They also contain rare trees, such as Argan trees.
Argan is one of the world’s most rare and endangered trees, a perennial tree with enormous capacity to resist drought and fight desertification. It is spreading in the south places of Morocco and its space is around 830 thousand hectares, and it has existed for hundreds of years.
The steps to get Argan oil in villages:
Women still depend on traditional ways and tools to get the Argan oil, first, they go to forests and collect the fruits of Argan and make it in the sun until the shell gets dry and then they break it and break the second one to get a nucleus of Argan. Here the coming step depends on the type of Argan oil we want, if we want an oil that is used in cosmetics they directly grind the nucleus and squeeze out the oil using traditional ways and tools. In matter Argan oil that used in foods and for breakfast with bread women bake the nucleus, and during the grinding and squeezing out they add cumin, Spicy red pepper, and salt to give it flavor and keep it fresh for a long time.
The remains that women get when they squeeze out the Argan oil are also, used as a natural soap for their body and face to make it beautiful and clean. Away from cosmetics women used those remains to feed the cows, goats, and sheep.
What makes Argan special is its oil which is exported to the world countries, to be used in curing a lot of diseases, in addition to its cosmetics benefits. Argan oil has become the focus of great interest by researchers, which made the cooperative-producing institutions unable to meet the growing demand in overseas markets. After discovering the benefits of Argan oil from foreign companies, it became a rich subject which made some people call it « green gold » or « liquid gold ».
The price of Argan is between 100 and 300 dollars per liter, which makes it one of the most expensive oils in the world.
Chemical composition of argan oil:
Argan oil consists of 42.8% of Oleic
acid, 36.8% of Linoleic acid, 6.0% of Stearic
acid, 12.0% of Palmitic acid, and less
than 0.5% of Linolenic acid.
Benefits of Argan Oil:
The specialists say that Argan oil can cure cholesterol, Arthritis, and Eczema, Prevention of pregnancy plans on the skin of the abdomen, Strengthen nails, and control the appearance of wrinkles. It’s also fighting the colitis.
Concerning the cosmetics benefits Argan helps to moisturize and clean the skin, and nourishes hair and scalp. Moreover, it stimulates vital functions of skin cells, which contributes to resistance to aging, and it relieves the effects of acne, fire, and wound scars.
