Studies on Simmondsia chinensis (link) schneider plant, its seeds and its oil.

The oil also known as ?jojoba oil? which obtains from the seeds of Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider plant is a liquid wax ester structure. It is very similar chemically to sebum which is produced by human skin. Therefore, it is important for cosmetics industry and currently it is found in many cosmetic products as an ingredient. Jojoba oil and derivatives obtained from it, are widely used in pharmaceutical and in other many industries.Simmondsins which are cyanogenic glycoside based chemicals found in jojoba seeds decrease food uptake significantly. For this reason, it is considered that the plant can be used in obesity treatment in the future.In this study, informations about botanical characteristics of Simmondsia chinensis, its cultivation and its production are given in detail. Additionally, chemical structures, biological activities and aplications of the compounds which are obtained from jojoba oil and jojoba meal are given.In this study, approximately 40% oil was obtained from seeds which are provided from Çukurova region plantation. The oil we obtained and commercial oil were examined by various quality control analysis. Results of our oil were found as, acid value 1.04, saponification value 96.3, ester value 95.3, iodine value 78.3 and freezing point 6.5°C. We couldn?t determine a remarkable antioxidant activity by DPPH method.