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Traditional use by native american indians
Jojoba nuts were used by native indians for their oil long before the Mexican historian Francisco J. Clavigero reported on the plant. The original Indian name for this plant was “hohohwi” which became “jojoba” after transliteration into Spanish. In his “Storia della California”, published in 1789, Clavigero remarked that “La Jojoba é uno dei piu preziosi frutti della California ” and he ascribed the most astounding medicinal qualities to the seed oil of jojoba and said that the oil was used by natives as a substitute for olive oil. The Indians of Baja California highly prized the jojoba seeds for both food and oil as a medicine for cancer and kidney disorders, especially in curing the suppression of mucous concretions in urine (Dweck).
Jojoba oil was well known to early Native Americans and Mexican peoples. Their uses for the seeds included roasting to make a coffee-like beverage, chewing them as a diet supplement and appetite suppressant, and using the oil (which they extracted by boiling the seeds in water) for facilitating childbirth, soothing skin irritations and treating sores, cuts, bruises and burns; even the use of jojoba-oil based skin salves was known. (Dweck)
The Apache Indians used the plant for the healing of wounds. The Seri Indians used the plant for sores on the head. To relieve eye soreness, the fruit was ground and wrapped in a cloth, which was then squeezed and the liquid put in the eyes. Recent research has suggested that the oil is anti-inflammatory in its action. The American Indian tribes used jojoba consistently for the treatment of wounds and swellings. The natives of the American Sonora desert used jojoba oil for hairdressings and even prized the oil for its hair restoring features (Daugherty et al., 1958). They attributed magical powers to the oil; legends that it could cure cuts, scratches and sores or promote hair growth were widely accepted. They referred jojoba as ‘a gift from the Gods’.
Nowadays, Jojoba is grown commercially for the liquid wax commonly called jojoba oil that has exceptionally long (C36-C46) straight-chain esters. It is pressed from the dark brown mature seeds. The jojoba oil is used in cosmetics as a moisture regulator and as carrier oil for specialty fragrances (D’Oosterlinck & Verhagen, 1991), while the remaining press cake has no applications until now, despite the strong bioactive substances (simmondsins) that are present in it.
Allergic reactions
Jojoba oil is similar to the natural oils, or sebum, that the human body naturally produces. When applied to the skin, it is quickly absorbed without irritating the skin. This is probably because the skin recognizes it as similar to sebum. Allergic reactions to jojoba oil are usually very rarely and are more likely caused by exposure to a less-than-pure product. If mineral oil or isopropyl alcohol is added to jojoba oil, the mixture may not only cause increased acne, but may also trigger an allergic reaction (Gomez, 2009). People hypersensitive to jojoba show also allergic reactions during pollination season. Although nowhere reported, we’ve experienced that about 5% of the population is allergic to the dusty, refined, de-oiled jojoba flour which results in sneezing and itching of the eyes or causing diarrhea when orally ingested. This allergic reaction is most likely provoked by the presence of certain proteins in the flour. Simmondsins obtained after polar extraction of the flour do not induce allergic reactions anymore in individuals suffering allergic reactions from the flour itself.
Stimulation of hair growth
In one of the experiments conducted at the laboratory of experimental cancerology (UGent, Prof. Mareel, internal communication), it was observed rather as a side effect that hair growth was induced in hairless Swiss nu/nu mice after oral administration of simmondsin molecules. Interestingly, the natives of the American Sonora desert used jojoba oil for hairdressings and prized the oil for its hair restoring features (Daugherty et al., 1958).
Other Biological activities
The simmondsin molecules present in the jojoba shrub have revealed different strong biological activities ranging from appetite suppressant to curing angiogenesis dependent diseases such as cancer and rheumatic disorders. The research on these topics will be focused more in detail in the next pages (experiments on food take inhibition, angiogenesis inhibition, control of bFGF and p53)
Reference list
* Clavigero FS (1789) Storia della California: opera postuma
* Daugherty PM, Sineath HH and Wastler TA. (1958). Industrial Raw Materials of Plant Origin. IV : A Survey of Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba). Economic Botany Vol. 12 (3):296-304
* D’Oosterlinck A. and Verhagen R. (1991) De Heilzame Kracht van Jojoba. Ed. Madal bal BV, Den Haag, The Netherlands, 47 pp
* Dweck AC. Ethnobotanical use of plants (part 4) : The American continent
* Gomez L. (2009) Allergic Reactions to Jojoba Oil, By Lamonica Gomez, eHow Contributing Writer http://www.ehow.com/about_5378022_allergic-reactions-jojoba-oil.html (posted 04 sep 2009)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]