Talk:Argan oil

Oxidation
How could a fatty acid with so much Omega 6 be more resistant to oxidation than olive oil? This oil repllaces much monounsaturated fat with polyunsaturated fat compared to olive oil, and the saturated fat amunts are close. The only possibility for that to be true is for it to be flooded with antioxidants (olive oil itself has a lot) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Press olive, win oil (talk • contribs) 13:29, 19 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Right! Argan oil is exceptionally rich in natural alpha tocopherols (vitamin E). 217.232.82.71 (talk) 04:19, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

Why is there no mention of the traditional method of preparation?
While the following links may not be canonical, it seems pretty clear that the traditional method of processing the nuts includes having them pass through the digestive tract of the goats that climb in the trees. The last one puts a little spin on it: "...men are busy gathering the pit that the goats spit out".

While official Moroccan sites insist that nowadays the production is strictly according to modern methods and don't use the goat, some local gourmet stores I've contacted say they can still get the goat-processed type and that there is a very noticeable difference between the two. Perhaps the goat method is not used today, and the 'crossover' to the goatless method occurred recently enough that there are still stores of the old style.

In any case, I feel some mention should be made in the main article.

I'm using hash signs instead of dots to avoid annoying who might be annoyed by the inclusion of hot links.


 * "Argan Oil", CottageSmallHolder.com.
 * "Argan Oil", Alibaba.com.
 * "Argan Oil: Unusual and Sometimes Disgusting Food Can Be Great Medicine", OfficialHealthTips.com.
 * http://www.informationdelight.info/encyclopedia/entry/Aerodramus
 * http://web.archive.org/web/20100514220204/http://lounsbury.com/#aqoul.com/archives/2005/10/although_low_ad.html
 * "Hungry Goats Atop a Tree, Doing Their Bit for Epicures", NYTimes.com.
 * "Tafraout: Argan Trees and other Vegetation", LeoAfricanus.com.

Kdq (talk) 01:59, 6 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Thank you for the article, but not all the argan oil is produced by women's cooperatives. I have no documentation about it, but I go to the region very often and people doesn't say that. I think that it should be changed by "Many women's cooperatives sell argan oil...." Not "All argan sold today..." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.247.136.66 (talk) 05:11, 9 November 2010

I agree that this needs to be mentioned. I saw a picture on a calendar showing a bunch of goats up in an argan tree which is why I looked this up in the first place. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 148.87.67.197 (talk) 22:39, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Additional citations
Why, what, where, and how does this article need additional citations for verification? Hyacinth (talk) 01:33, 24 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The entire body of the article remains almost completely unsourced, and the latter half of the introduction also lacks citations. I'm not sure if some of the external links were used as references -- if so, footnotes should be added to indicate what information came from which source.  Otherwise, sources should be found and then footnotes added.  138.16.32.85 (talk) 17:44, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Refs #8 and #9 do not support the statements made in the main article; #8 claims health benefits on the basis that argan oil unsaturated fatty acid contents are similar to other vegetable oils, therefore health benefits "ought to be" similar. #9 claims cholesterol-lowering benefits after subjects ate 25 g of butter daily for two weeks, the ate 25 g argan oil daily for three weeks. No control group continued with butter consumption. Lynxx2 (talk) 22:06, 26 October 2015 (UTC)

Merge proposal
I suggest merging into a single article under argan/argania. Content of the current argan oil entry can be inserted under the argan oil heading, removing the duplicated content, shifting non-oil bits of the oil entry to relevant sections of main article if they add, and dealing with contradictions, such as the conflict of the composition charts someone mentioned. I make this suggestion just having returned from Somaliland where the Argan (kulan) tree grows indigenously and spontaneously along the coast and inland regions N. of the Golis mountains. This info should be added to the articles as they evolve. I am currently in the process of of arranging a test for Somaliland argan to compare chemical composition with that of Morocco, and can contribute that if NZ indeed gives me a permit to send it to a lab without heat treatment which may destroy the composition. I'm new to this process--does anyone ever do anything about these changes, and if so who? This one seems to have been hanging fire for a year and a half. Ayaan.or (talk) 04:33, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

There is more information about the argan tree in this article than there is in the Argan article. I think we should merge this article into the Argan article with this article becoming a redirect. As I understand it, it's the tree that's so critical to the ecology and environment of Africa. The oil is primarily a way to make it economical to conserve of the tree. Therefore, the tree article should be the main focus here and the oil should be a major section in that article. Joja lozzo  13:40, 23 July 2012 (UTC)
 * I'd vote to keep the two separate articles but move content to the most appropriate and minimise duplication. - Rod57 (talk) 02:32, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

I second Rod57's suggestion to keep both articles but move/amend relevant sections — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.224.142.246 (talk) 08:04, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

Fatty acid composition needs sources
List here conflicts with that in argan so we need sources. One is says "The major fatty acids in argan oil are oleic, linoleic, stearic, and palmitic acids (Charrouf et al., 1999; Khallouki, 2003; Khallouki et al., 2003). The oil has a high content (45%) of oleic acid (C-18:1) with respect to other seed oils, and it is also rich (35%) in polyunsaturated linoleic acid (C-18:2) (Charrouf et al., 1999; Khallouki, 2003; Khallouki et al., 2003). Argan oil has a fatty acid composition similar to that of sesame and peanut oil, marketed in Western Europe."

(no date or refs) says "Palmitic acid 14, Stearic acid 5, Linoleic acid 37, ... Oleic acid 43.5"

Journal article says "oleic acid (43%) and linoleic acid (36%) "

Sources seem to back up the list here rather than the one in argan. - Rod57 (talk) 02:57, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

Dolphin embryos??
The first line about the oil being made from baby dolphins seems to be a joke. Can someone flag this, please? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.162.244.62 (talk) 12:41, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Sources removed from EL list
I have removed the following sources from the external links section. They could be used a reference in the article but do not belong in the EL section. Joja lozzo  16:54, 6 April 2014 (UTC)
 * Arganic Specialist: L'rosenburg de Uber: history of Arganda. Introduction to Moroccan's rare tree specie, where the argan nut derives and seeds being crushed to retrieve oil.
 * Rachida Nouaim: L'arganier au Maroc: entre mythes et réalités. Une civilisation née d'un arbre, une espèce fruitière-forestière à usages multiples. Paris, L'Harmattan (2005) ISBN 2-7475-8453-4

Endemic
The word "endemic" is usually used with respect to diseases. I don't think it belongs in the first sentence in this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Skysong263 (talk • contribs) 04:47, 16 May 2016 (UTC)
 * This is a perfectly legitimate and common usage for the word endemic. Look up the definition if you still have doubts. 38.72.131.25 (talk) 20:38, 28 July 2017 (UTC)

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Link points to original article
The link 'cosmetic purposes' in the Argan Oil article points to the article 'Argan Oil' again. Is this intentional? Why? 2600:1700:4CA1:3C80:A4D4:B730:8CC2:9801 (talk) 17:12, 27 November 2022 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 21 March 2023
Hello,

The sources indicating Argane oil exists in Algeria are failed attempts to plant Moroccan Argan trees in Algerian soil. Kindly correct the mistake.

Many thanks Batatafrite (talk) 12:28, 21 March 2023 (UTC)


 * ❌. We're not going to disregard the sources we have to delete that. In fact, this article is protected because of disruptive deletions of Algeria from the article. - MrOllie (talk) 12:41, 21 March 2023 (UTC)
 * Hi,
 * The Algerian studies which constitute the basis of the claim of Argan tree being present in Algeria, are studies to replicate Moroccan Argan tree in nurseries in Algeria which have failed.
 * Making Argan tree an original tree in Morocco that is not naturally grown anywhere else.
 * Cheers Batatafrite (talk) 13:24, 21 March 2023 (UTC)
 * This is verging on pathetic. M.Bitton (talk) 13:54, 21 March 2023 (UTC)
 * The pathetic one is the one who is talking about an Arabic Item without the ability of reading Arabic.
 * Pathetic indeed is to see people like yourself considering historical evidence of 600 years as "nationalist non-sens", it is clear that you are politically motivated to deny historical artifacts that you can't read.
 * Just forward the case to an Arabic speaker. It's pathetic to hide behind all sorts of excuses to camouflage the fact you don't read Arabic. Batatafrite (talk) 21:03, 21 March 2023 (UTC)
 * No, we're simply not going to ignore the reliable sources we have. - MrOllie (talk) 21:13, 21 March 2023 (UTC)
 * the reliable sources you have that allowed you to say it is from "maghrébin" origin is a broken link. Did you archive the link? Yes.
 * Did you correct that mistake? Not yet.
 * Did you take historical evidence into account? No.
 * What reliable sources are you even talking about ??? 2A02:A210:2280:8780:4508:1840:AB98:40C0 (talk) 21:15, 21 March 2023 (UTC)

Origins of Argan Oil
Hello,

The article indicates that Argan originates from Morocco and Algeria, but there are no sources proving that Algeria is, in the literal sense, an original place for the Argan trees. Even the sources used are just research papers that were not of quality, and were financed by Algerian ministry, which makes them questionable. Especially with the importation efforts done to domesticate the trees.

I'd suggest editing the article to reflect clearly on these facts:

1) Argan originates from Morocco, but has some form of existence (synthetically or organically) on the outskirts borders.

2) Delete the mention that Algeria is a country of origin from the infobox. OussDB (talk) 10:05, 6 May 2023 (UTC)


 * This reliable source (under the Distribution tab) and the Argania article state that Argania spinosa originated in the northwest African region including both Algeria and Morocco. I'll add the GRIN source to the statement of origin in the article.
 * provides no source indicating that the tree is native only to Morocco. There is no logical reason to dismiss the two sources in the article for the partial Algerian origin of A. spinosa. Over the centuries that argan oil was extracted and used in the region, it is unlikely that this occurred only from Moroccan trees. Zefr (talk) 16:51, 6 May 2023 (UTC)