Jojoba oil is the liquid produced in the seed of the ''Simmondsia chinensis'' (

jojoba Jojoba (; botanical name: ''Simmondsia chinensis'')also commonly called goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bushis native to the Southwestern United States. ''Simmondsia chinensis'' is the sole specie ...

) plant, a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

, which is native to southern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, southern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

makes up approximately 50% of the jojoba seed by weight. The terms "jojoba oil" and "jojoba wax" are often used interchangeably because the wax visually appears to be a mobile oil, but as a wax it is composed almost entirely (~97%) of mono-esters of long-chain fatty acids ''(

wax ester A wax ester (WE) is an ester of a fatty acid and a fatty alcohol. Wax esters comprise the main components of three commercially important waxes: carnauba wax, candelilla wax, and beeswax.. Wax esters are formed by combining one fatty acid with o ...

)'' and alcohols (

isopropyl jojobate Isopropyl jojobate is the ester of isopropyl alcohol and the acids derived from jojoba oil. Isopropyl jojobate is commonly used in cosmetic formulations. Chemical structure Isopropyl jojobate is the isopropyl ester of the unfractionated sapo ...

), accompanied by only a tiny fraction of

triglyceride A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''tri-'' and ''glyceride''). Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as w ...

esters. This composition accounts for its extreme shelf-life stability and extraordinary resistance to high temperatures, compared with true vegetable oils.

History

The O'odham Native American tribe extracted the oil from

seeds to treat sores and wounds. The collection and processing of the seed from naturally occurring stands marked the beginning of jojoba domestication in the early 1970s. In 1943, natural resources of the U.S, including the jojoba oil, were used during war as additives to motor oil, transmission oil, and differential gear oil. Machine guns were lubricated and maintained with jojoba.

Appearance

Unrefined jojoba oil appears as a clear golden liquid at

room temperature Colloquially, "room temperature" is a range of air temperatures that most people prefer for indoor settings. It feels comfortable to a person when they are wearing typical indoor clothing. Human comfort can extend beyond this range depending on ...

with a slightly nutty odor. Refined jojoba oil is colorless and odorless. The

melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends ...

of jojoba oil is approximately 10 °C and the

iodine value In chemistry, the iodine value (IV; also iodine adsorption value, iodine number or iodine index) is the mass of iodine in grams that is consumed by 100 grams of a chemical substance. Iodine numbers are often used to determine the degree of ...

is approximately 80. Jojoba oil is relatively shelf-stable when compared with other vegetable oils mainly because it contains few

triglycerides A triglyceride (TG, triacylglycerol, TAG, or triacylglyceride) is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids (from ''tri-'' and ''glyceride''). Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as we ...

, unlike most other vegetable oils such as

grape seed oil Grape seed oil (also called grapeseed oil or grape oil) is a vegetable oil derived from the seeds of grapes. A by-product of the winemaking industry, it is typically used for edible applications. Uses Cooking Grape seed oil has a moderatel ...

and

coconut oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...

. It has an oxidative stability index of approximately 60, which means that it is more shelf-stable than

safflower oil Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds and was used by the early Spanish colonies along ...

canola oil Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, ...

almond oil The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

, or

squalene Squalene is an organic compound. It is a triterpenoid with the formula C30H50. It is a colourless oil, although impure samples appear yellow. It was originally obtained from shark liver oil (hence its name, as ''Squalus'' is a genus of sharks). A ...

but less than

castor oil Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans. It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its density is 0.961 g/cm3. It includes a mixture of triglycerides in which about ...

and

Chemistry

The fatty acid content of Jojoba oil can vary significantly depending on the soil and climate in which the plant is grown, as well as when it is harvested and how the oil is processed. In general, it contains a high proportion of mono-unsaturated fatty acids, primarily 11-Eicosenoic acid (gondoic acid).

Uses

Being derived from a plant that is slow-growing and difficult to cultivate, jojoba oil is mainly used for small-scale applications such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.. Overall, it is used as a replacement for

whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...

and its derivatives, such as

cetyl alcohol Cetyl alcohol , also known as hexadecan-1-ol and palmityl alcohol, is a C-16 fatty alcohol with the formula CH3(CH2)15OH. At room temperature, cetyl alcohol takes the form of a waxy white solid or flakes. The name cetyl derives from the whale oi ...

. The ban on importing whale oil to the U.S. in 1971 led to the discovery that jojoba oil is "in many regards superior to

sperm whale oil Sperm oil is a waxy liquid obtained from sperm whales. It is a clear, yellowish liquid with a very faint odor. Sperm oil has a different composition from common whale oil, obtained from rendered blubber. Although it is traditionally called an ...

for applications in the cosmetics and other industries". Jojoba oil is found as an additive in many cosmetic products, especially those marketed as being made from natural ingredients. In particular, such products commonly containing jojoba are

lotions Lotion is a low-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to the skin. By contrast, Cream (pharmaceutical), creams and gels have higher viscosity, typically due to lower water content. Lotions are applied to external skin with bare ...

and

moisturizers A moisturizer, or emollient, is a cosmetic preparation used for protecting, moisturizing, and lubricating the skin. These functions are normally performed by sebum produced by healthy skin. The word "emollient" is derived from the Latin verb ''mo ...

, hair

shampoos Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the s ...

and conditioners. The pure oil itself may also be used on skin, hair, or

cuticle A cuticle (), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous, differing in their origin, structu ...

s. Like

olestra Olestra (also known by its brand name Olean) is a fat substitute that adds no calories to products. It has been used in the preparation of otherwise high-fat foods thereby lowering or eliminating their fat content. The Food and Drug Administrati ...

, jojoba oil is edible but non- caloric and non-digestible, meaning the oil will pass out of the intestines unchanged and can mimic steatorrhea—a health condition characterized by the inability to digest or absorb normal dietary fats. Thus, this indigestible oil is present in the stool, but does not indicate an intestinal disease. If consumption of jojoba oil is discontinued in a healthy person, the indigestible oil in the stool will disappear. Jojoba oil also contains approximately 12.1% of the fatty acid

erucic acid Erucic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, denoted 22:1ω9. It has the chemical formula CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)11COOH. It is prevalent in wallflower seed and other plants in the family Brassicaceae, with a reported content of 20 to 54% i ...

that would appear to have toxic effects on the heart at high enough doses, if it were digestible. Although impractical, jojoba

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

has been explored as a sustainable fuel that can serve as a substitute for

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

diesel.

Photo gallery

File:Flickr - brewbooks - Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba).jpg, Plant File:Jojoba-weibliche-blüte.JPG, Female flower File:Simmondsia chinensis male flower.jpg, Male flower File:Jojoba.jpg, Fruits File:Jojoba.seed.jpg, Seed

References

External links

International Jojoba Export Council
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Description and chemical structure of jojoba oilCan This Unassuming Little Desert Shrub Really Save The World?
- The first article from 1977 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jojoba Oil Waxes Vegetable oils Cosmetics chemicals