Benefits
HDL cholesterol and triglycerides in feeding trials
In short feeding trials in Moroccan adults, replacing butter or other fats with about 25 mL a day of virgin argan oil was followed by higher HDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides. In 60 men, triglycerides fell about 18 percent; in 86 adults with type 2 diabetes, triglycerides fell about 12 percent and HDL rose about 11 percent.
LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B
Results are not uniform. In adults with dyslipidemia or type 2 diabetes, argan oil before breakfast was followed by lower LDL cholesterol, about 12 to 26 percent in two trials. In one trial in healthy men, LDL and apolipoprotein B fell only in the olive oil group, not the argan oil group, so the LDL effect is less consistent than the HDL and triglyceride changes.
Oxidative stress markers and LDL resistance to oxidation
Across several Moroccan trials, argan oil was linked to lower blood lipid peroxides and malondialdehyde and to LDL that resisted oxidation longer, shown as a longer lag phase. Glutathione peroxidase and paraoxonase, enzymes tied to antioxidant defense, were higher after argan oil in some groups.
Vitamin E and the oil's antioxidant capacity
Virgin argan oil is rich in tocopherols, especially gamma-tocopherol (vitamin E), plus polyphenols, carotenoids and squalene, and laboratory testing puts its total antioxidant capacity above many other edible oils. Blood vitamin E rose from baseline in people given argan oil in two feeding trials.
Oleic and linoleic acids as the main fats
About 80 percent of argan oil is unsaturated fat: mainly oleic acid, a monounsaturated omega-9, and linoleic acid, an omega-6 essential fat, with the rest largely palmitic and stearic acids. Replacing butter and other saturated fats with this fatty-acid profile is the usual basis for its use as a culinary oil.
Blood lipid ratios in a controlled feeding study
In a controlled study of 38 Moroccan adults who had metabolic syndrome along with knee osteoarthritis, eating argan oil was reported to improve several of their metabolic syndrome measures and to lower atherogenic blood lipid ratios. The study was small and gave no numbers for the individual measures, so the size of any change is not known.
Mechanism of action
Unsaturated fats in place of saturated fat
In the feeding trials argan oil replaced butter or other fats. Its oleic and linoleic acids are unsaturated, and replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat is a well-known way diet can shift blood cholesterol and triglycerides. This is the main proposed route for the lipid changes seen with the oil.
Tocopherols and polyphenols as antioxidants
Gamma-tocopherol, phenolic compounds, carotenoids and squalene in the oil can neutralize reactive oxygen species and protect LDL particles from oxidation in laboratory tests. The trials linked argan oil to higher blood vitamin E and lower blood lipid peroxide levels.
Plant sterols and cholesterol handling
Argan oil contains characteristic plant sterols. Plant sterols can reduce how much cholesterol the gut absorbs, a general mechanism shared by other plant foods. How much the sterol content of ordinary culinary amounts of the oil contributes has not been measured directly in these trials.
Clinical trials
Cross-sectional comparison of regular virgin argan oil consumers with non-consumers, measuring fasting plasma lipids, antioxidant vitamins and LDL oxidation, plus laboratory tests of the oil's minor compounds on LDL oxidation. (Drissi et al. 2004, Clin Nutr)
96 healthy Moroccan adults (20 men, 76 women): 62 regular argan oil consumers and 34 non-consumers.
Argan oil consumers had about 12.7 percent lower LDL cholesterol and 25.3 percent lower Lp(a), lower plasma lipoperoxides and higher alpha-tocopherol than non-consumers, while overall LDL oxidation susceptibility was similar between groups. Because people were not randomized, the comparison cannot separate argan oil from other diet differences.
Intervention study with a 2-week butter run-in, then random assignment to 25 g/day virgin argan oil or extra virgin olive oil for 3 weeks, with serum lipids and apolipoproteins measured. (Derouiche et al. 2005, Ann Nutr Metab)
60 healthy Moroccan men.
HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I rose in both the argan oil and olive oil groups versus the butter run-in. Triglycerides fell about 17.5 percent only with argan oil, while LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B fell significantly only with olive oil. The diets were matched for calories, and blood pressure and weight were tracked.
Intervention study with a 2-week butter baseline, then randomization to 25 mL/day virgin argan oil or extra virgin olive oil for 3 weeks, measuring paraoxonase (PON1) activity, antioxidant vitamins and LDL oxidation. (Cherki et al. 2005, Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis)
60 healthy young Moroccan men.
PON1 activity rose and blood lipoperoxides and conjugated dienes fell in both oil groups versus baseline. Vitamin E rose significantly only in the argan oil group. LDL resisted oxidation longer, with a longer lag phase and lower maximum diene production, after argan oil. There was no placebo arm; olive oil was the comparator.
Randomized study comparing 25 mL/day virgin argan oil with 20 g/day butter at breakfast for 3 weeks, measuring serum lipids, apolipoproteins, CRP and LDL oxidation. (Ould Mohamedou et al. 2011, Int J Endocrinol)
86 adults in Morocco with type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia.
After 3 weeks of argan oil, triglycerides fell about 11.8 percent, total cholesterol about 9.1 percent and LDL cholesterol about 11.8 percent, while HDL cholesterol rose about 10.5 percent and apolipoprotein A-I about 9.4 percent. LDL resisted oxidation longer, with the lag phase up about 21 percent. The comparator was butter, so part of the change reflects replacing butter.
Study in which dyslipidemic patients were assigned to 25 mL/day virgin argan oil at breakfast or to butter for 3 weeks, with plasma lipids, platelet aggregation and oxidative markers measured. (Haimeur et al. 2013, Lipids Health Dis)
39 dyslipidemic adults (79 percent women) recruited near Rabat, Morocco.
In the argan oil group total and LDL cholesterol were lower, with LDL about 25.6 percent lower, and HDL cholesterol rose about 26 percent versus baseline, while thrombin-induced platelet aggregation and platelet malondialdehyde fell and glutathione peroxidase activity rose. The authors note the sample is not representative of the Moroccan population.
Controlled crossover trial of a 4-week virgin argan oil diet, measuring fasting plasma lipids, vitamin E, oxidized LDL and malondialdehyde around dialysis sessions. (Eljaoudi et al. 2015, Phytother Res)
37 adults (18 men, 19 women) with end-stage renal disease on maintenance hemodialysis.
Oxidized LDL did not change significantly, but triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol fell and HDL cholesterol rose. Vitamin E rose only during the argan oil period, and the rise in malondialdehyde across a dialysis session was smaller with argan oil. These are patients under medical care.
Controlled clinical study of edible argan oil consumption in patients who had both knee osteoarthritis and metabolic syndrome, looking at metabolic syndrome parameters and blood lipid ratios. (Essouiri et al. 2018, Curr Rheumatol Rev)
38 Moroccan adults with knee osteoarthritis and metabolic syndrome.
The authors report that argan oil consumption improved several of the patients' metabolic syndrome measures and lowered their atherogenic blood lipid ratios. The abstract does not say which measures changed or by how much, and the study was small.