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Jojoba (jojoba). Legends, myths, symbolism, description, cultivation, methods of application

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Content

1. Photos, basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism
2. Basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism
3. Botanical description, reference data, useful information, illustrations
4. Recipes for use in traditional medicine and cosmetology
5. Tips for growing, harvesting and storing

Jojoba (jojoba), Simmondsia chinensis. Photos of the plant, basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism

Basic scientific information, legends, myths, symbolism

Sort by: Simmondsia

Family: Simmondsiaceae

Origin: Southern California, Arizona and Mexico

Area: Jojoba is cultivated in various regions of the world, including the USA, Israel, Argentina, South Africa and others.

Chemical composition: Fatty oil (up to 50% oil in seeds), proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals

Economic value: Jojoba seeds are used for the production of liquid wax, cosmetics, hair oils, lotions and creams, and are also used in the food industry.

Legends, myths, symbolism: Jojoba can be used as a symbol of resilience and survival, as it is a plant that can survive in extremely adverse conditions. It can also be used as a symbol of health and nutrition, as its seeds are high in protein and other nutrients. In traditional medicine, jojoba has been used to treat certain ailments, which may symbolize its healing properties and ability to help restore health. In general, jojoba can be used as a symbol of resilience, survival, health, and nutrition.

Jojoba (jojoba), Simmondsia chinensis. Description, illustrations of the plant

Jojoba (jojoba), Simmondsia chinensis. Botanical description of the plant, areas of growth and ecology, economic importance, applications

Nature with surprising constancy presents us with surprises. So, one small American bush puzzled first physicians, later naturalists - hunters for useful plants, then biochemists, and finally amazed physicists and technicians.

The first Europeans who found themselves on the territory of America simply did not pay attention to the inconspicuous stunted shrub that chose the saline, heat-cracked, scarce lands of northwestern Mexico and southwestern North America for its residence. Only the Indians did not consider it difficult to collect small berries, the size of cranberries, less often the size of an acorn, from a bush. These berries were fried and eaten. Sometimes the berries were boiled to extract the oil, the content of which was exactly half the weight of the seeds.

The oil was used for food and for lighting wigwams. In this regard, Europeans were not particularly interested in oil. But then it turned out that the Indians also use it to treat wounds, facilitate childbirth, cure skin cancer and even restore hair, although in general a bald Indian is a little-known phenomenon in nature. It was then that the plant, or rather, the oil extracted from the seeds, was taken up by biochemists.

The plant itself eventually became widely known under the name "jojoba" (jojoba), and in the secular circles of botanists - Californian Simondsia (Simondsia californica Natt.).

Biochemists were immediately smitten with their first discovery. It turned out that the oil from the jojoba fruit is not oil at all. After all, vegetable oils are a mixture of esters formed by higher fatty acids and trihydric alcohol glycerol. This is the oil of quite "normal" plants: cotton, olives, flax and soybeans. When trying to prove this central dogma regarding jojoba oil, chemists have failed. In oil, instead of glycerin, there was a much larger linear molecule with one alcohol group instead of the three oil-bearing plants accepted in society.

Willy-nilly, I had to admit that Simondsia-jojoba oil is more legitimately attributed to waxes - these esters formed by fatty acids and high-molecular monohydric fatty alcohols or (much less often) aromatic series. However, unlike the hard waxes familiar to everyone (such are the hydrocarbons of the hard wax of the peel of apples and grapes, beeswax and the wax contained in sheep's wool - lanolin), Simondsia oil is a liquid wax or waxy ether of high molecular weight.

This discovery explained the incomprehensible, out of the ordinary features of the oil, which attracted the attention of the general public - from food workers to army quartermasters and from motorists to technicians who equip spacecraft for flights.

First of all, jojoba oil has a pleasant nutty smell and does not require industrial purification or processing; secondly, it does not darken and remains liquid even with a high degree of sulphurization; thirdly, it does not worsen the taste as a result of repeated heating and (we will not continue the numbering) does not change the density with a change in temperature.

Vegetable oils and animal fats have one common drawback, which often plunges zealous housewives into despondency - they become rancid. Biochemists explain this by the action of light, air, water, certain oxidative enzymes, microorganisms, or simple saponification. But that doesn't make it any easier for anyone. But Simondsia oil is free of this drawback - it is stored without visible signs of rancidity, without acquiring an unpleasant taste and smell for an extremely long time.

Jojoba oil was recognized as a miracle of nature not only by food workers, housewives and foremen. Its properties made an even more irresistible impression on physicists and technicians. It has been found that its viscosity is retained at unusually high levels of pressure and temperature, and, therefore, it is indispensable in high-speed technology. Moreover, it is able to maintain the required viscosity for decades when operating in satellite systems of the Earth, where, as is known, extremely low friction.

Racing car engines, fast-moving marine and river boats can last up to six times longer with jojoba oil without loss of power than those running on traditional lubricants.

Jojoba oil has found application in the chemical industry, perfumery and medicine, and the cake remaining after wax is used in fodder production. By the way, jojoba cake contains up to 35 percent protein, that is, more than beef meat (31), tuna fish (28) and eggs (12), yielding in this respect only soy (42). However, there is one "but". This protein is poorly absorbed by the body due to the content of a special substance in the cake - shimondzin, which, however, can be easily removed by ammonification with the help of microorganisms.

But for a person, jojoba flour with shimonzin can be a boon if he does not want to get fat.

Leaves and young shoots of jojoba are fed to cattle, sheep and goats. Seed shells are used as mulch to reduce evaporative moisture loss, protect fields from erosion and weeds, and at the same time enrich the soil with organic matter.

What is Simondsia Californian, or jojoba? This is a small, evergreen, dioecious, wind-pollinated shrub up to a meter high (record height 4,5 meters) with blunt dark green leaves. The yield of seeds from a bush in natural habitat conditions is from 450 grams to 2,5 kilograms, in favorable culture conditions for the 8-12th year of life - up to 5,5 kilograms.

At the age of 40-50 years, the bush produces up to 13,5 kilograms of berries (the jojoba bush is a long-liver - it lives up to 100-200 years). When the fruits ripen, their shell cracks and falls off, exposing a brown single nut-like seed; sometimes there can be up to five such seeds in the fruit. On nutrient-poor soils in the Sonoran Desert, on the territory of Baja California (USA) - one of the driest places on the planet - jojoba calmly tolerates temperatures reaching 55 ° C in the shade.

Simondsia-hojoba is now being cultivated in Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Australia and India. The most highly developed culture of jojoba is in Israel, but the highest yields due to favorable climatic conditions are obtained in Costa Rica. They are trying to introduce hojoba into the culture in Turkey. Attempts to grow jojoba on a plantation in Turkmenistan are being made by the All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Plant Industry named after V. I. Vavilov.

In May 1988, the Ogonyok magazine began publishing unpublished chapters of Ilya Grigoryevich Orenburg's unfinished autobiographical work, People, Years, Life. I, a biologist by profession, were interested in his misfortunes associated with an attempt to introduce winter witloof salad into our menu.

However, the word to Orenburg: “I want to tell the ill-fated story of my many years of attempts to introduce into our everyday life a winter salad, which in the West is called “witloof” (“white head”), or “Brussels chicory”. The Belgians really diligently expel this salad, export it to various Western countries, for which they receive about eight million dollars annually.

Author: Laptev Yu.P.

Jojoba (jojoba), Simmondsia chinensis. Recipes for use in traditional medicine and cosmetology

Ethnoscience:

• Skin Moisturizer: mix equal parts of jojoba oil and honey. Apply to the skin and leave for 10-15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
• Acne treatment: Apply a few drops of jojoba oil to problem areas of the skin twice a day.

Cosmetology:

• Hair Care Oil: mix 1/4 cup jojoba with 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup avocado oil. Apply to hair, leave for 30 minutes, then rinse with water and shampoo your hair.
• Mask for the face: mix 2 tablespoons of jojoba with 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Apply to face and leave on for 15 minutes, then rinse with water.
• Body cream: mix 1/2 cup jojoba with 1/4 cup shea butter and 1/4 cup cocoa butter. Apply to body after shower or bath.
• Makeup remover: Pour some jojoba onto a cotton pad and gently remove make-up from your face.

Attention! Before use, consult with a specialist!

Jojoba (jojoba), Simmondsia chinensis. Tips for growing, harvesting and storing

Jojoba or jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) is an evergreen shrub from the jojoba family that grows in the desert regions of North and Central America.

Tips for growing, harvesting and storing jojoba:

Cultivation:

• Jojoba is grown in sunny places with good drainage soil.
• Climatic Requirements: Jojoba requires a warm and dry climate. It does not tolerate frost, so if you live in a cold region, it is best to grow it in pots so that you can carry it indoors during the cold season.
• Soil: Jojoba prefers light, well-drained soil. It does not tolerate waterlogging, so make sure the soil is well drained.
• Planting: The best time to plant jojoba is autumn or early spring. Choose a location with good access to sunlight. The distance between plants should be about 1,5 meters.
• Care: Jojoba does not require much care. It needs watering only during the period of drought, it is also desirable to hill the soil and feed the plant with organic fertilizers once a year.
• Pruning: Jojoba does not need frequent pruning, but remove damaged and diseased branches regularly.
• Harvest: Jojoba begins to bear fruit 3-5 years after planting. Jojoba grains ripen in August - September. Harvest grains as they start to fall from the tree.
• Reproduction of jojoba occurs through seeds, which should be sown in the ground after the last frost.
• Jojoba can be used to produce oil, which is widely used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Workpiece:

• To obtain oil from jojoba, it is necessary to collect the fruits of the shrub, which secrete a mucus containing oil.
• The fruits are harvested in late summer when they begin to swell.
• The collected fruits must be thoroughly washed and dried.
• The fruits are then subjected to oil extraction using mechanical presses or chemical solvents.

Storage:

• Jojoba oil should be stored in hermetically sealed containers at a temperature not exceeding 25 °C.
• The oil retains its beneficial properties and taste for 2-3 years.

Jojoba is a valuable plant that is used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Its oil contains many useful substances that have a beneficial effect on the skin and hair. Growing jojoba can be tricky, but with the right care, you will get a valuable crop.

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