Chemical and sensory analysis of argan oil

To ensure argan oil quality, a combination of physico-chemical and sensory methods is necessary. Utility and importance of these methods in the Moroccan norm for argan oil are presented. Our demonstration is based on four types of argan oil 1) edible argan oil that is prepared from mechanically pressed roasted kernels, 2) beauty oil that is prepared from mechanically pressed non-roasted kernels, 3) artisanally prepared argan oil extracted by manual pressing and 4) artisanally prepared argan oil extracted by manual pressing of goat-digested kernels. Fresh, each kind if oil was classified as extra virgin according to the moroccan norm (NM 08.05.090). However, only edible argan oil prepared from mechanically pressed roasted kernels displayed the best physico-chemical and sensorial profile.