Argan (Argania spinosa L.) oil has been used for centuries in Morocco as cosmetic oil to maintain a fair complexion and to cure skin pimples and chicken pox pustules scars. Although it is popular, the scientific basis for its effect on the skin has not yet been established. Here, the melanogenesis regulatory effect of argan oil was evaluated using B16 murine melanoma cells. Results of melanin assay using B16 cells treated with different concentrations of argan oil showed a dose-dependent decrease in melanin content. Western blot results showed that the expression levels of tyrosinase (TYR), tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP1), and dopachrome tautomerase (DCT) proteins were decreased. In addition, there was an increase in the activation of MITF and ERK1/2. Real-time PCR results revealed a downregulation of Tyr, Trp1, Dct, and Mitf mRNA expressions. Argan oil treatment causes MITF phosphorylation which subsequently inhibited the transcription of melanogenic enzymes, TYR and DCT. The inhibitory effect of argan oil on melanin biosynthesis may be attributed to tocopherols as well as the synergistic effect of its components. The results of this study provide the scientific basis for the traditionally established benefits of argan oil and present its therapeutic potential against hyperpigmentation disorders.
The olive tree and oil are iconic in the Mediterranean culture and religions, and producers incorporate those associations into the packaging of olive oil products they distribute regionally. This study examines the impact of religious and cultural information about olive oil on consumer behavior. A choice experiment was conducted to survey Japanese consumers’ willingness to pay for olive oil products. Results show that consumers respond with varying degrees of favor to the characteristic of “produced in pilgrimage destination,” but if cultural and religious information related to olive is provided, their willingness to pay increases 6.7 times. Measurements of cross-effects show that consumers that are more educated respond favorably to cultural and religious imagery, whereas older consumers and those with more children respond less favorably. Empirical results imply those regional religious and cultural allusions could be used to differentiate and promote olive oil products in a culturally distinct market.
Sedimentation occupies the storage capacity of reservoirs and reduces the amount of available surface water resource. The countermeasure to the sedimentation is required especially in arid land where the land erosion is very severe due to low vegetation in the catchment area, and even fine particles are deposited because of the low water rotation of the reservoirs under the climatic condition of clear difference between rainy season and drought season. However, it has not been carried out because the conventional technologies against the sedimentation, such as dredging or bypass for sediment inflow, are quite costly.The authors proposed the exploitation idea which can valorize the sediment and will financially assist the cost of dredging or other countermeasures to the sedimentation. One of the exploitation ways is producing construction bricks. Sediment in Tunisian reservoirs is fine and sticky clay or silt, so there is a potential of the material for producing ceramics. In this study, the current situation of the production of the construction bricks in Tunisia was surveyed; price of raw material, a wholesale price, market price, processing cost and material flow. This information defines the market of construction bricks and the possibility of reservoir sediment for the production of construction bricks can be evaluated.Physical feasibility of the sediment for construction bricks was also investigated by the trial production of small pieces of slate and carrying out the flexure test with them. The slate samples made from the sediment gave almost same strength as the slate made from clay which is used in a brick factory in Tunisia.
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