Argan oil (Argania spinosa) primarily contains oleic and linoleic acids which are the type of triglycerides found in natural oils. Argan oil, along with other oils, has properties that can treat acne caused by low levels of linoleic. Our research focuses on the study of oil property alterations during and after ozonation and assessing Argan oil's antibacterial properties on three types of bacteria. Ozonation of oil happens when ozone (O3) is infused into liquid oil to yield structural, appearance, and smell changes. The ways to determine the ozonation level is by monitoring the reaction using Infrared (IR), proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Peroxidase Value (PV) test. Ozonated argan oil was tested against gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis and gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida to assess argan oil's antibacterial properties. In the IR the oil after 24 hours of ozonation did not show the C = C sp2 stretch. The NMR showed a peak reduction at 5.4 – 5.3, 2.3 (CH=CH), 2.01 (CH2-C=C-CH2) ppm, and 5.4 – 5.3 ppm. For the PV test the oil before ozonation was 16.33 and the ozonated oil was 1,156.67. For the growth inhibition assays, the ozonated and non-ozonated (control) argan oil were prepared on LB agar and incubated at room temperature and 37 oC. Ozonated argan oil inhibited the growth of E. coli and B. subtilis, revealed by zones of inhibition on the plates. Non-ozonated argan oil did not inhibit the growth of bacteria. This study will continue replicating ozonated Argan oil to make more argan oil-based bacteria cultures. Future directions include the optimization of the ozonation procedure with a study of the product’s stability. It also includes determining the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for each argan oil against the three bacteria to assess their antibacterial effectiveness better.

Ozonated argan oil: A preliminary assessment

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