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Almond oil: powerhouse of nutrients

Authors:
  • National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization, ilorin, Nigeria.
  • National Center for Agricultural Mechanization (NCAM)

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The relative abundance of almond seed in several tropical regions of the world coupled with the little knowledge of its utilization in vegetable oil production prompted the need for this review. The aim is to review almond oil expression through different extraction/expression approach, the economic and health benefits of almond oil, and the challenges and prospects of almond oil extraction in Nigeria. This review covers the recent significant materials found in the literature on almond seed and oil extraction/expression. Almond oil is an essential oil packed with a lot of nutrients that are beneficial to human health. Therefore, it is important to devise better approach for maximum oil extraction/ expression.
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190 September, 2020 AgricEngInt: CIGR Journal Open access at http://www.cigrjournal.org Vol. 22, No. 3
Almond oil: powerhouse of nutrients
Akubude, V.C.1*, Maduako, J.N.1, Egwuonwu, C. C.1, Olaniyan, A.M.2, Ajala, E.O.3,
Ozumba, C.I.4, Nwosu, C.4
(1.Department Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria
2.Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Federal University Oye-Ekitti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
3.Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria
4.National Centre for Agricultural Mechanization, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.)
Abstract: The relative abundance of almond seed in several tropical regions of the world coupled with the little knowledge of its
utilization in vegetable oil production prompted the need for this review. The aim is to review almond oil expression through
different extraction/expression approach, the economic and health benefits of almond oil, and the challenges and prospects of
almond oil extraction in Nigeria. This review covers the recent significant materials found in the literature on almond seed and
oil extraction/expression. Almond oil is an essential oil packed with a lot of nutrients that are beneficial to human health.
Therefore, it is important to devise better approach for maximum oil extraction/ expression.
Keyword: almond seed, vegetable oil, oil expression/extraction methods, nutritional content
Citation: Akubude, V.C., J. N. Maduako, C. C. Egwuonwu, A. M. Olaniyan, E. O. Ajala, C. I. Ozumba, C. Nwosu. 2020.
Almond oil: powerhouse of nutrients. Agricultural Engineering International: CIGR Journal, 22 (3):190-201.
1 Introduction
Oil is substance that does not mix with water and has
a greasy feel (Foods Safety and Standards Authority of
India, 2010). Fats and oil are substances that can be
obtained either from animal or vegetable sources. They
are non-volatile and insoluble in water but soluble in
organic solvent (Aremu et al., 2015). Oils gotten from
plant vegetable are called vegetable oil while those
obtained from animals are called animal fats (Aremu et
al., 2015). Vegetable oil and animal fats are generally
called lipids. These lipids are widely used for our
everyday food products. Their applications are increasing
day by day for food and industrial purposes (Aremu et al.,
2015; Bazlul et al., 2010). Among their industrial
Received date: 2019-01-19 Accepted date: 2019-01-24
* Corresponding author: Akubude Vivian Chimezie,
Department Of Agricultural and Bioresource Engineering, Federal
University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Tel:
+23407034325951. E-mail: akubudevivianc@gmail.com.
applications are manufacturing of soap, detergents,
paints, varnishes (Afolabi, 2008), candles, lubricants,
linoleum, printing ink, polymers (plastics) (Ibrahim and
Onwualu, 2005), some pharmaceutical products (Ajav
and Fakayode, 2013), glycerin, fatty acids, cosmetics
(Biris et al., 2013), ointments, metal cutting fluids
(Olaniyan and Oje, 2007), biofuel (Imane et al., 2014;
Giuseppe and Eleonora, 2007) and food items like snacks,
cake, margarine (Ibrahim and Onwualu, 2005), salad,
cooking oil (Aremu et al., 2015), pastry, mayonnaise
(McKevith, 2005). However, there are various sources of
vegetable, as some are edible while others are non-edible.
The edibility of any vegetable oil is based on its chemical
composition, as those containing toxic substances are
considered non-edible. Examples of non-edible oil are
jatropha curcus, pongamia pinnata, moha, undi,
saemaruba . Although, they are non-edible but have found
great applications in industries for biofuel production
(Bobade and Khyade, 2012). Those that are edible
include shea butter, palm oil, palm kernel oil, soybean oil,
September, 2020 Almond oil: powerhouse of nutrients Vol. 22, No. 3 191
groundnut oil and almond oil. Among the aforementioned
edible oil, almond oil has not been fully utilized because
of paucity of information on its potentials. Almond oil is
abundant in nature as it is grown as wild tree and can be
found mostly in tropical forest.
Almond tree is one of the versatile tree nut (Clyde et
al., 2004), perennial in nature, usually grown within the
cold and temperate regions (Mirzabe et al., 2013) mainly
as shade during hot weather (Agatemor, 2006) or as
orchard crop (Agunbiade and Olanlokun, 2006) or for
ornamental purposes (Apata, 2011; Nwosu et al., 2008).
There are basically two varieties of almond: sweet and
bitter almond (Akpabio, 2012; Akpakpan and Akpabio,
2012; Hari and Lakshmi, 2012; Annongu, 2006; Karatay
et al., 2014; Aregbesola et al., 2012, Agunbiade and
Olanlokun, 2006). Studies have shown that each variety
of almond tree has a conservative estimated yield of 75
kg of fruits per year (Apata, 2011). The almond fruit
contains seed that house the almond oil. Like any other
vegetable seed, almond seed contains three layers: the
outer part, the fleshy pulp and relatively hard shell known
as green epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp respectively.
The endocarp contains embryo known as kernel (Ajala et
al., 2016)
The seed being small in size and difficult to extract, is
rich in oil (Sovilj, 2010) ranging between 50%-60% total
weight of the seed and is located as intracellular oil
bodies of diameter size ranging from ~1 to 5 μm (Ellis et
al., 2015) and can be preserved up to a year by either
drying or smoking before storage (Adu et al., 2013).
Garcıa-Pascual et al (2003) confirms that the classical
way of storing almonds nuts is to keep them in their shell
after natural drying until their consumption or use in
industry.
The vast majority of almonds are sold shelled; shelled
almonds may be sold as whole natural almonds or may be
processed into numerous forms (Clyde et al., 2004) in
countries where almonds are produced for commercial
purposes. In some countries like Nigeria, production is
not yet at commercial level (Aregbesola et al., 2012); in
fact, almonds are not sold in Nigeria market in fresh form
except for the processed ones imported from other
countries, yet there are vast of the trees in almost every
state of the country. This shows the high level of under-
utilization (Adu et al., 2013) and the need to create
awareness in that area to encourage farmers into its
production for commercialization. Therefore, the aim of
this study was to review the almond oil expression
through different extraction/expression approach, the
economic and health benefits of almond oil
2 Nutritional content of almond oil
Almond seed is a nutritious oil seed, rich in fiber,
calcium, vitamin E and protein content. Chemical profile
as was reported by Bolaji et al. (2013) further confirmed
almond oil is highly nutritious with high phytochemical
content. The phytochemical has been reported to treat
coronary artery disease (CAD) (Ellis et al., 2015).
Almonds provide a nutrient-dense source of vitamin E,
manganese, magnesium, copper, phosphorus, fiber,
riboflavin, monounsaturated fatty acid, protein (Ehsan et
al., 2009), folic acid, alpha tocopherol, zinc and vitamins
A, B1, B2, B6 (Blanca, 2007). Almonds have been
identified as good sources of natural antioxidants with
bioactive properties (Hanine et al., 2014). Tables 1 and 2
give a highlight of the mineral content and proximate
composition of almond seed.
Table 1 Proximate composition of almond seed (Akpabio, 2012)
Composition
Composition
Moisture (%)
25.229
Ash (%)
5.00
Lipid (%)
32.73
Crude Protein (%)
33.69
Crude Fibre (%)
3.11
Carbohydrate (%)
25.47
Caloric value (Kcal)
534.20
Table 2 Mineral contents of Indian almond nut (dmb)
(Agunbiade and Olanlokun, 2006)
Element
Composition%
Phosphorus
0.19
Potassium
0.17
Magnesium
0.25
Sodium (ppm)
245.65
Calcium (ppm)
845.45
Manganese(ppm)
10.24
Zinc (ppm)
92.12
Iron (ppm)
70.62
Copper (ppm)
9.21
The chemical composition of bitter almond essential
oil was analyzed by gas chromatographymass
spectrometry (GCMS), twenty-one different components
representing 99.9% of the total essential oil were
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identified of which benzaldehyde (62.52%), benzoic acid
(14.80%) and hexadecane (3.97%) were the most
abundant components (Geng et al., 2016).
2.1 Global production
On a global basis, almonds rank first in tree nut
production (Roux et al., 2001). The world‘s production of
this fruits is about 700,000 tons annually (Nwosu et al.,
2008; Annongu et al., 2006; Bolaji et al., 2013) and
studies showed that Nigeria produces approximately 14%
of the worlds production (100000 tons) annually
(Annongu et al., 2006; Bolaji et al., 2013) as shown in the
Figure 1.
Figure 1 Annual world almond production (tons)
The major countries growing this plant include Italy,
Spain, Morocco, France, Greece, and Iran. Its flowers
appear between April and May and between September
and October. The fruiting season is from October to April
(Akpabio, 2012).
Several varieties of almond fruit exist in countries
where almond production is at its commercial level like
in California. Such varieties include Carmel, Mission,
Neplus, Nonpareil, and Peerless (Roux et al., 2001). The
most important being the ‘‘Nonpareil’’ which accounts
for over 50% of the total California production (Clyde et
al., 2004).
3 Almond oil extraction methods
The production of oil from oilseeds is an important
business, and several researches had been carried out to
investigate ways to improve the oil output of the seeds as
well as ways to control the composition of the oil
(Knowles and Richter, 2013). Numerous methods of
separating or removing oil from oilseeds exist and these
processes are very important (Biris et al., 2013). The
choice of the method is most times influenced by the end
use and cost implication as it has effect on the quantity
and quality of oil (Biris et al., 2013) as well as the
stability characteristics of the oils (Tasan et al., 2011).
The separation of oil from oilseeds is painstaking and
energy intensive irrespective of the method used (Kalia et
al., 2002). Two terms that are frequently used to describe
the separation processes are extraction and expression.
Extraction is the process of separating a liquid from a
liquid-solid system with the use of a solvent while
expression is the process of mechanically pressing liquid
out of liquid-containing solids. Though they have their
little differences but have been used interchangeably in
literature (Biris et al., 2013).
The popularly used methods include emulsion
method, pressure method and solvent extraction method.
Martins et al. (2013) recorded that there are two
traditional methods for the extraction of vegetable oils:
physical and chemical or solvent., they could also be
classified as traditional method, mechanical method,
solvent extraction method, supercritical fluid extraction
method (Aremu et al., 2015), distillation (Biris et al.,
2013), hot water flotation (Fellows and Axtell, 2012),
cold percolation method (Kalia et al., 2002), gas assisted
mechanical method (Willem, 2007). Despite the several
approach in literature, this review classified the methods
into two broad classifications, namely: traditional
methods and improved methods.
3.1 Traditional method
This method involves several manual steps which
vary from place to place. It involves decorating,
winnowing, grinding using mortar and pestle, kneading to
press out the oil and then heating extracted oil to remove
any traces of moisture (Ibrahim and Onwualu, 2005). In
Nigeria, individuals extracted oil by reducing the size of
the dried seeds using mortar and pestle, after which it is
heated and pressed manually using muslin cloth. Some
limitations of traditional methods are time consuming,
low expression efficiencies which is mainly due to
inefficient pounding and grinding (Fellows and Axtell,
2012), tedious, environmentally unfriendly, energy
sapping, low yield and poor quality (Olaniyan and Oje,
September, 2020 Almond oil: powerhouse of nutrients Vol. 22, No. 3 193
2007). However, despite the limitations these simple
traditional processing methods continue to be used
because the cost of equipment is low (Fellows and Axtell,
2012).
3.2 Improved methods
3.2.1 Solvent extraction
This has been recorded to be the most efficient oil
recovery method from oil seeds. The process is based on
the capacity of the solvent to dissolve oils and to extract
them from the complete seed (Ricochon and Muniglia,
2010). Therefore, the lipid fraction is removed by means
of an apolar solvent, usually hexane (Martins et al., 2013)
or other solvents like propane, carbon-dioxide and n-
hexane for extraction. It has been employed for
extraction from several oil seeds such as shea nut oil
(Ikya et al., 2013), neem oil (Liauw et al., 2008; Tunmise
and Oladipupo, 2012), mango seed oil (Nzikou et al.,
2010), fluted pumpkin (Agatemor 2006), almond seed oil
(Agatemor, 2006; Adu et al., 2013; Atsu Barku et al.,
2012, Matos et al., 2009), cashew nut oil (Idah et al.,
2014), palm kernel oil (Atasie and Akinhanm, 2009),
soybean oil (Avram et al., 2014) etc.
The disadvantage with this method is that the oil has
to pass through elevated heat treatment for a longer
period which may destroy its important nutritional
components and the fact that some traces of the solvent
used still remains in the oil even after purification (Latif,
2009). Efforts have been made to develop technologies to
overcome this challenge through Two-phase solvent
extraction, enzyme-assisted solvent extraction (Latif,
2009; Eshtiaghi et al., 2015) or the use of organic solvent
(Ferreira-Dias et al., 2003).
3.2.2 Supercritical fluid extraction method
This involves the use of carbon dioxide (SC-CO2)
particularly for isolation of the valuable components from
plant materials (Sovilj, 2010). This method helps to
produce oil of superior quality but the investment cost is
very high (Asoiro and Akubuo, 2011) where any
enhancement of extraction efficiency either in terms of
extraction rate or yield is economically attractive (Vilkhu
et al., 2006). Also, combined action of ultrasound and
supercritical carbon dioxide on extraction could be used
to significantly improve extraction rate or yield of
amaranth oil, almond oil, operating parameters such as
temperature, pressure and CO2 flow for Adlay oil (Vilkhu
et al., 2006). Work on optimization of technology for
almond oil extraction by supercritical CO2 showed that
the optimum extraction conditions that gave oil yield of
52.98% are as follows: extraction pressure of 36 MPa,
extraction temperature of 50oC, CO2 flow rate of 24 L h-1,
diameter of almond powder 60 mu and extraction time of
2 h (Ma et al., 2007). Supercritical fluid extraction of
almond oil has more advantage over Soxhlet extraction
method with respect to the quality of the extracts due to
high oleic acid content (Natalia et al., 2010). Moreover,
oil extracted from crushed almond seeds using
supercritical carbon dioxide method at 350 bar and 40oC
gave oil yield values that were very close to that obtained
from Soxhlet method (Marrone et al., 1998).
3.2.3 Mechanical method
It is the most common and the oldest method used for
oil extraction from seeds (Ajao et al., 2009). This
involves the oil seeds being subjected to mechanical
forces to enhance seed deformation (Ajav and Fakayode,
2013) and the easy release of oil through pressing.
Several machines have been adopted for this method and
they include motorized ghani, presses, mechanical oil rig,
expellers (Practical Action, 2008; Olaniyan and Oje,
2007). The design process of some of these machines
shows that mechanical strength is very important in
design of machines for oil extraction from oil seeds as
this will determine the force that will be enough for oil
optimization (Ozumba et al., 2010) and the power
required for it. Also the dehusking process of the whole
fruit to get out the seed for extraction is also another vital
process and work by Sunmonu et al. (2015) on
determination of some mechanical properties of almond
seed related to design of food processing machines gave
the properties for red and white varieties of almond fruit
which will be of great help in designing locally made
dehusking machines. There are several researches in this
area for some oil seeds (Ajav and Fakayode, 2013;
Mirzabe et al., 2013) of locally made oil extraction
machines. Also, oil point pressure is very important
parameter in mechanical oil extraction as it gives a guide
on the pressure range for maximum oil extraction. Work
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by Aregbesola et al. (2012) on oil point pressure of
almond show that oil point pressure reduced with increase
in heating temperature and heating time for both coarse
and fine particles. Oil point pressure is very important in
designing extraction machines for almond seeds as this
will serve as a guide to what the minimum and maximum
pressure range will be. Investigation carried out on the
effect of process parameters on oil yield from sweet
almond seed (Terminalia catappia) expressed using a
mechanical oil rig shows that the maximum oil yield of
37.138%, was obtained at temperature, pressure, heating
time and moisture content of 90°C, 24 KN, 18 minutes
and 8% w.b respectively (Akubude et al., 2017).
3.2.4 Aqueous method of oil extraction
This technology was initiated to serve as alternative to
solvent method of extraction. It uses the principle of
disrupting the tissue of the material by applying heat to
allow oil separation. It could be through either dry or wet
rendering. Dry rendering is done by heating a material so
that the fat melts out and can be separated while wet
rendering in terms of aqueous extraction involves three
important processes: material crushing, cooking process
(which at first development is using heated water) and oil
separation either using a pressing or centrifuging (Shende
and Sidhu, 2014). Works done using this method include
oil extraction from almond seed using methanol-water
aqueous layer (Matos et al., 2009), Wheat germ oil (Xie
et al., 2012) and breadfruit (Maria et al., 2013) . Also,
studies from Sharma and Gupta (2006) recorded that
ultrasonic pre-treatment of the almond and apricot seeds
before aqueous oil extraction and aqueous enzymatic oil
extraction provided significantly higher yield with
reduction in extraction time.
4 Factors affecting oil expression
There are several factors affecting oil
extraction/expression from oilseeds. For a given specie of
oil seed, the main factors influencing the expression
process are pressure, temperature, and moisture content.
It is important to note that some of these factors are
peculiar to a particular extraction/expression method.
studies shows that oil extraction process by mechanical
method is influenced by particle size, moisture content,
heating temperature, heating time, pressing pressure and
pressing time (Abidakun et al., 2012; Adekola, 2014).
Common pressures discussed in oil expression are oil
point pressure, effective pressure and optimum pressure.
Oil point pressure refers to that applied pressure at which
the oil comes out of the inter-particle voids or the
minimum pressure that must be applied before oil
expression commences. Effective pressure is some value
above the oil point value. Oil point pressure of almond
seed is 1.00 MPa 2.33MPa for 70oC-115oC, 5%-8% w.b
for fine, coarse and particle size (Aregbesola et al., 2012).
Studies on several oil seeds shows that oil recovery
increases with decrease in moisture content, increase in
temperature, heating time and pressure (Adejumo et al.,
2013). But yield tend to level off when the optimum
pressure have been reached and yield tend to decrease as
the optimum time and temperature is approached and this
also tend to have negative effect on the quality of the oil
and the cake (Adejumo et al., 2013).
Heating enhances extraction process by reducing the
oil viscosity and releasing oil from intact cells, and also
reduces moisture in the cells. Temperature is among the
key parameters in the seed treatment for mechanical
extraction and ensures an effective solvent extraction
process by heating the solvent which quickens the
extraction process. At the right temperature and moisture
content, maximum oil yield is attained (Aremu et al.,
2015). Adesina and Bankole (2013) recorded the effect
of particle size, applied pressure, pressing time and time
on oil yield of almond seed. But there are no works on
effect of moisture content and temperature on oil yield
and even effect of process parameters on oil quality of
mechanically expressed almond seed. Optimum
parameters are yet to be established for this method with
respect to almond seed.
For enzymatic oil extraction studies recorded that the
enzyme concentration, enzyme time, type of enzyme
(Eshtiaghi et al., 2015), pH and Substrate/Water Ratio
(Sant’Anna et al., 2003) affects oil yield.Studies from
Sovilj (2010) shows that process parameters affecting
supercritical CO2 extraction method are pressure,
temperature, solvent flow rate, diameter of ground
materials, and moisture of oil.
September, 2020 Almond oil: powerhouse of nutrients Vol. 22, No. 3 195
5 Quality parameters
Table 3 indicates both chemical and physical
properties of almond oil in literature and the method of
extraction used.
Table 3 Physiochemical properties of almond oil
Note: Where RI = Refractive Index, SG = Specific Gravity, VI = Viscosity, AV = Acid Value, SV = Saponification Value, IV = Iodine Value, PV = Peroxide Value,
FFA = Free Fatty Acid, FL =Flash point, FIP=Fire point, CO= colour, SE= solvent extraction, MTE= method of extraction, – = Not available.
6 Challenges and prospects of almond oil
extraction in West Africa
Almond oil extraction process begins from harvesting
of the almond fruit as show in Figure 2a and 2b. Though
the oil is stored within the almond kernel but to extract
the kernel the strong fibrous shell of almond fruit must be
carefully cracked to release the seed. The major
challenges of almond oil extraction in west Africa
particularly Nigeria are experienced during the pre-
processing of almond fruit to extract the seed from the
almond nut. Operations like harvesting of fruits from the
field, de-pulping, winnowing, cracking and sorting are
still done manually because there has not been any
improved method for carrying out these operations in
Nigeria due to the fact that almond processing is still a
new venture. Manual cracking using hammer or stone is
tedious, time consuming and inefficient since some of the
seeds end being broken as a result of application of high
impact force. Though almond nut crackers could be
imported from some foreign countries but the cost is
expensive for small scale businesses that are into almond
oil production in Nigeria. Hence, the need for locally
made almond nut cracker. Also, reducing the almond
kernel to the desired size, heating and pressing out of
almond oil is a process that requires a well-controlled
mechanical system to achieve. Another, challenge is the
availability of the seed in the market. Presently, almond
fruits from Nigeria farmland are not sold in Nigeria
market because they are allowed to waste in the field. In
fact, most of the almond trees are grown for shade and as
ornamental trees. Therefore, there is need for creating a
market structure for almond sales in Nigeria where
farmers are encouraged to cultivate, process, store and
sell almond fruits and products in market, this way it
becomes available to oil producers that are into almond
oil production.
Currently there is research revolution cropping up in
Nigeria particularly at University of Uyo and Ghana in
view of harnessing the total potentials of almond fruit.
The research at Faculty of Agriculture, University of Uyo
is presently working on the characterization, selection and
breeding of different species. The research is working
alongside with National centre for Agricultural
mechanization where a prototype machine for almond
juice extraction and nut deshelling is being fabricated
(AgroNigeria, 2016). Hence, there is hope that through
the research results, structures can be set up for almond
processing and utilization. This will proffer a bright
prospect for the increasing population, solve employment
problem, reduce poverty rate and food security problem
in Nigeria. This is very possible since the Nigeria soil
supports cultivation of almond fruit, and planting of many
of this tree plant can help to solve deforestation problem
in Nigeria.
(a) Pre-processing of almond fruit before almond oil extraction/expression
MTE
SG
FFA
SV
PV
VI
PH
RI
FP
FIP
AV
CO
AUTHORS
SE
0.926
-
179.02
-
-
-
-
-
-
7.59
-
Agatemor (2006)
SE
0.923
0.38
168.27
4.073
1.465
0.787
Golden
Atsu Barku et al (2012)
SE
-
0.388
163.398
-
-
-
-
-
-
0.770
-
Afolabi (2008)
SE
-
20.05
151.55
2.25
302.39
6.67
1.46
110
220
40.14
Yellow
Ogunsuyi and Daramola (2013)
SE
-
2. 42
207
0.51
32.92
-
-
-
-
-
-
Mataos et al (2009)
196 September, 2020 AgricEngInt: CIGR Journal Open access at http://www.cigrjournal.org Vol. 22, No. 3
(b) Almond oil extraction/expression flow chart
Figure 2 Pre-processing of almond fruit before almond oil
extraction/expression and almond oil extraction/expression flow
chart
7 Economic and health benefits of almond oil
Almonds tree are nutritional powerhouses with its oil
packed with several of helpful nutrients that had
contributed to its economic and health importance as
shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3. In fact, it has served as
natural remedy in many of the external and internal
diseases (Safeena et al., 2013). Almond oil contains more
vitamin E than most other nut oils, phytosterols,
unsaturated fatty acids, mono-unsaturated fatty acids
(MUFAs), calcium and magnesium. Its content has
triggered the increasing number of natural healthcare
products and demand for healthy ingredients. Review
work by Akubude et al. (2016) reveals that essential oil of
almond can be used for food flavourings and the
cosmetics industry. The oil of bitter almonds is also used
after the poisonous acid (prussic acid) that gives the bitter
taste has been removed. Bitter-almond oil is used as
flavouring in foods, soft drinks, and medicines, and as a
fragrance for perfume, soaps, cosmetics creams, hair oils,
balms, scrubs, massage oils (Safeena et al., 2013).
Findings from Geng et al. (2016) revealed that bitter
almond oil is a potential botanical and agricultural
fungicide that is environmental friendly. Results from
work done on almond show that it has high oil yield and
is a potential feedstock for biofuel (Ogunsuyi and
Daramola, 2013), oleo-chemical production (Amit and
Amit, 2012) and aromatherapy (CBI Ministry of Foreign
Affair, 2014).
8 Future research needs
Studies on the oil yield of several varieties of almond
seed under different process parameters is very essential;
more information is needed on the effect of storage
methods on the quality of oil produced from several
methods. Research on the comparative study of the
various methods of oil extraction from almond and their
blending compatibility with other vegetable oil is also
needed. The effect of process parameters on oil recovery
and its quality is also imperative. Study on optimization
of oil from almond seed is essential. There is little
research on mechanical and physical properties of the
several varieties in continents like Africa particularly
West Africa and more research is needed in that area
which will also serve as a guide to the design and
fabrication of locally made machines for the processing
of almond fruit into its several products like oil. Also, the
market setup for commercialization of almond fruit and
its products in countries where they are under-utilized is
urgently needed through creating awareness and
encouraging farmers to go into its commercial
production. And when taken serious, almond will turn to
become one of the exported products of any country that
goes into its production at commercial level and this will
generate income not just for the farmers but the country at
large.
Finally, food scientist and chemist are encouraged to
research more on the end use of the oil for production of
other essential products like cosmetics; mayonnaise, hair
cream etc and the federal government alongside with non-
governmental organizations need to help out in setting up
a research institute to make developmental studies on
almond a reality in no distant time.
Oil
September, 2020 Almond oil: powerhouse of nutrients Vol. 22, No. 3 197
Figure 3 Economic benefits of almond oil
Figure 4 Health benefits of almond oil
9 Conclusion
A review on almond oil has been undertaken. From
this study, the following are evident:
1. The most commonly used method of expression for
198 September, 2020 AgricEngInt: CIGR Journal Open access at http://www.cigrjournal.org Vol. 22, No. 3
almond is supercritical carbon dioxide method, hence the
need to explore other expression/extraction methods and
its combination more deeply.
2. There are data for process optimization for some
methods like the mechanical expression using mechanical
oil rig and supercritical carbon dioxide method but
optimization for other method is yet to be explored.
3. There is need for increased awareness on the
nutritional content of almond in countries where it is
underutilized since it has great health and economic
benefits so that such countries can get involved in
commercial production of almond.
4. There are few research works on blending of
almond oil with other oils as this can help to enhance its
quality and quantity for specific applications.
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