Leung's Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics

Low molecular weight peptides (mol. wt.
1000–10,000) with analgesic and anti-inflam-
matory activities are described in a Japanese
patent.^19 Two anti-inflammatory peptides
(mol. wt. 257,000 and 19,000) have also been
isolated from Chinese almonds (peach ker-
nels,Prunus persica).^14

USES

Medicinal, Pharmaceutical, and Cosmetic.
Sweet almond oil is used as a laxative in doses
up to 30 mL as well as a solvent for parenter-
ally administered drugs and a solvent for
hemorrhoid injectable solutions.^10 It is also
used as an emollient and emulsifier for
chapped hands, in lotions (both moisturizing
and night skin care preparations), suntan gels,
blushers, makeup bases, skin cleansing pre-
parations, creams, and as an ointment base. It
is used in cosmetic formulations in concentra-
tions up to 50%; 25% in lipstick formulations.
Almond meal is used as a skin cleanser and in
medicated soaps.^10
Bitter almond oil was formerly used in the
United States as cough sedative and as an
antipruritic. It is no longer used commercially
for these purposes.

Food. Bitter almond oil (FFPA) is widely
used as a flavor ingredient in most categories
of food products, including alcoholic and
nonalcoholic beverages, frozen dairy desserts,
candy, baked goods, gelatins and puddings,
and others, generally at use levels below

0.05%. Synthetic benzaldehyde is even more

widely used for the same purposes.

Sweet almonds have been used as food for

thousands of years. They are a good source of

protein, fats, calcium, iron, potassium, phos-

phorus, and trace minerals such as zinc and

copper.

Dietary Supplements/Health Foods. The

controversial unofficial anticancer drug lae-

trile is mainly amygdalin isolated from

kernels of apricot, peach, and other related

fruits (TYLER2).^20 Almond oil is often used as a

base for massage oil products.

Traditional Medicine. In traditional Chi-

nese medicine, apricot (P. armeniaca) kernels

are used as an antitussive and antiasthmatic

and in treating tumors. Apricot tree inner bark

in the form of a decoction is used in treating

apricot kernelpoisoning,reportedlywithgreat

success (JIANGSU). Sweet almond seed or seed

oil has been used as a folk cancer remedy for

bladder, breast, mouth, spleen, and uterine

cancers, among others.

COMMERCIAL PREPARATIONS

Crude and oils (sweet and bitter, FFPA). Sweet

almond oil is official in N.F., and bitter almond

oil (FFPA) is official in F.C.C.

Regulatory Status. Bitter almond essential

oil natural extractive and solvent-free oleores-

in (free from prussic acid) are GRAS for use in

foods (§182.20).

REFERENCES

See the General References forARCTANDER;BAILEY2;BRUNETON;CLAUS;DUKE3;FEMA;GUENTHER;
JIANGSU;MARTINDALE;MCGUFFIN1&2;NANJING;SAX;TERRELL;TYLER2;WATT AND MERRILL.

1. E. Y. Babekova and V. F. Shcheglova,Sb.
   Rab. Aspirantov, Tadzh. Univ. Ser Biol.
   Nauk, 3 , 24 (1969).


2. T. M. Jeong et al.,Lipids, 9 , 921 (1974).


3. I. Karkocha,Rocz. Panstev. Zakl. Higi.,
   24 , 703 (1973).
   4. M. Nishijima et al.,Tokyo Toritsu Eisei
   Kenkyusho Kenkyu Nempo, 26 , 183
   (1975).
   5. U. Schwarzmaier, Phytochemistry, 11 ,
   2358 (1972).
   6. T. M. Jeong et al.,Lipids, 10 , 634 (1975).

Almonds 23