This letter will bring you a flash about a new oil or a new approach about a traditional oil.
We are glad to present another antique oil : the apricot seed oil.
Apricot seeds (also known as « bitter almonds ») have been used for thousands of years to treat respiratory problems in the pharmacopaeias of traditional Chinese medicine.
Apricot Seed Oil – Prunus armeniaca
Properties
Rich in essential fatty acids (oleic acid and linoleic acid, see composition), apricot kernel oil is high in Vitamin A. It spreads easily on the skin and provides useful elements to its health.
The seeds contain the components Vitamin B-17, which, in the body, produce a metabolite of cyanide. For that reason and in internal uses, apricot oil should only used by experienced herbalists and practitioners familiar with their use. They should never be used on children in internal.
Apricot containsApricot Kernel Oil is high in Vitamin A. It is smooth and lightweight. This excellent texture is great for prematurely aged skin and skin that is dry and irritated. Softening and moisturizing
Cosmetic Uses
Massage, daily skin care, … Apricot oil is easily absorbed into the skin and, therefore, an excellent softeneing and moisturizing oil for face, hands, and hair. Vitamins A and C are good for mature, dry, or sensitive skin.
Apricot kernel oil is smooth and lightweight. This excellent texture is great for prematurely aged skin and skin that is dry and irritated.
Internal uses
You will found numerous claims on the internet concerning the cancer-fighting benefits of apricot seeds. We don’t recommend apricot seeds as a cancer treatment and we repeat that the National Cancer Institute in the USA claimed laetrile was an ineffective cancer treatment in 1980.
Seeds contain the components Vitamin B-17, which, in the body, produce a metabolite of cyanide. For that reason they should only used by experienced herbalists and practitioners familiar with their use. They should never be used on children.
Plant
Rosaceae family (subfamily Prunoideae)
The tree is hardy and bears stone fruit, closely related to the peach. The leaves are broad and roundish, with pointed apex.
The flowers are sessile, white, tinged with the same dusky red that appears on the petiole, with five regular sepals and petals and many stamens.
The fruit ripens end of July to mid-August and is a drupe, like the plum, with a thin outer, downy skin enclosing the yellow flesh (mesocarp), the inner layers becoming woody and forming the large, smooth, compressed stone, the ovule ripening into the seed.
The tree is a medium-sized tree. It is propagated by budding on the musselplum stock.
Process
Oil is cold pressed from the seeds
Composition
| Fatty Acid Composittion |
| C16:0 |
Palmitic |
5 % |
| C18:0 |
Stearic |
1 % |
| C18:1 |
Oleic |
70 % |
| C18:2 |
Linoleic |
24 % |
| C18:3 |
Alpla Linolenic |
trace |
|
Eicosenoic |
trace |
|
|
|
History
Chinese literature in the « Ming-i-pie-lu » – circa 502 A.D.
Matthiolus, « Commentarii in Sex Libros Pedacii Dioscorides » (1544) treament for tumours.
Medicinal folklore in Kentucky
Laetrile theory: the apricot pit extract breaks down to release CN-, but only when in contact with ß-glucuronidase, the enzyme common to tumor cells. The CN- is released preferentially at tumor sites, and kills cells.
Apricot seeds were used to treat tumors as early as AD 502 (see bibliography). Apricot oil was used against tumors and ulcers in England in the 1600s.
Cyanogenic glycosides are common in stone fruit seeds (bitter and not sweet) and are found in high concentration in apricot seeds.
The drug laetrile is derived from extracts of apricot seeds.
A controversial therapy for cancer started in the fifties with a few reports of tumor regression and pain reduction. The National Cancer Institute in the USA claimed laetrile was an ineffective cancer treatment in 1980, but it is legal still in Mexico.
Seed of Mediterranean apricots is generally « sweet » and can be used as a substitute for almonds.
Bibliography
•Briese, R.R., and Couch, J.F., Preservation of Cyanogenetic Plants for Chemical Analysis, J.Agr.Research, 57(2): 81-107, 1937.
•Brown, W.E., Wood, C.D., and Smith, A.N., Sodium Cyanide as a Cancer Chemotherapeutic Agent — Laboratory and Clinical Studies, Am.J.Obst. & Gynec., 80: 907-918, 1960.
•Chappel, C., Toxicity Studies on Amygdalin, McNaughton Foundation, Montreal, Canada, 1967, p.2. •Charlton, J., The Selection of Burma Beans for Low Hydrocyanic Acid Content, Memoirs Dept. Agr. India Chemical Series, 9(1), 1926-1928.
•Dedolph, R.R., and Hamilton, R.A., The Bitterness Problem in Some Seedling Macadamias (Due to amygdalin — ed.), Hawaii Farm. Sci., 8(1): 7-8, 1959. •Delga, J., Mizoula, J., Veverka, B., and Bon, R., Studies on the Treatment of Cyanide Intoxication by Hydroxycobalamin (Provitamin B-12), Ann. Pharmaceut., 19(12): 740-752, 1961.
•Jones, M.B., Seasonal Trend of Cyanide in Peach Leaves and Flower Buds and Its Possible Relation to the Rest Period.Proc. amer.Soc.Hort.Sci., 77: 117-120, 1961.[nee Jones?, rsc]
•Liebig, J., and Wohler, F., The Composition of Bitter Almonds,Annalen, 22(1): 1-24, 1837.
•Liebig, J., and Wohler, F., Formation of the Oil of Bitter Almonds, Ann.Chim.Phys., 64: 185-209, 1837.
•Luh, B.S., and Pinochet, M.F., Spectrophotometric Determination of Hydrogen Cyanide in Canned Apricots, Cherries and Prunes, Food Research, 24: 423-427, 1950.
•Perry, I.H., The Effect of Prolonged Cyanide Treatment on Body and Tumor Growth in Rats, Am.J.Cancer, 25: 592-[ff.],1935.
•Sayre, J. W. (1964) re- Prunus armeniaca. Gourmet 24(9):2 Sayre, J. W.; Kaymakcalan, S. (1964) Cyanide poisoning from apricot seeds among children in central Turkey. New England J Med 270(21):1113-1115
•Wokes, F., and Willimott, S.G., The Determination of Cyanide in Seeds, J.Pharm. & Pharmacol., 3: 905-917, 1951.
Questions
From Katy: My baby has « cradle cap ». What do you recommend ?
Michel’s reply: Take care that it is not an early form of atopic eczema. See your dermatologist. Raw sheabutter can be use locally.
From Dana : How to apply oil ? how many time a day ? what about face ?
Michel reply: Each oil speads differently but in all cases, heat and friction enhance the quick absorption into the skin.
Don’t forget to avoid eye area for facial massage.
For postpartum, massage skin several times per day to minimize stretch marks
