Background: Jojoba butter is cyanogenic and has gained attention among herbal supplement consumers due to claims that it may aid in weight loss. Jojoba butter is extracted from the seeds of jojoba shrubs found in the Sonoran Desert. The seeds have long been recognized as inedible, however clinical symptoms following ingestion are not well documented. Case report: This report describes a patient who developed restlessness and gastrointestinal complaints following ingestion of homemade jojoba seed butter. The patient's presentation following ingestion is discussed, as well as effective workup and treatment. In our case, the patient was monitored and received fluid resuscitation, lorazepam, and diphenhydramine for symptomatic therapy. Conclusion: This case describes the gastrointestinal sequela and effective management following ingestion of jojoba butter.

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Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Jojoba and Its Uses, October 11-15, 1982, Tucson, Arizona.

In 1984 and 1985 visual differences in frost damage were observed among 40 jojoba clones growing in a field in Tucson, Arizona. More detailed data were collected on the clone with the least damage (Clone-1) and the one with the most damage (Clone-2). On 10-ten terminal branch samples, Clone-1 showed an average of 12% leaf damage compared to 35% for Clone-2. Leaf freezing under controlled conditions on a monthly schedule showed that leaves of Clone-1 consistently froze at a lower temperature than Clone-2. Also, a second exotherm occurred in 50% of the samples for Clone-1 whereas a second exotherm occurred in only 15% of the samples of Clone-2. Soil moisture content and plant water potential were measured biweekly. Neither seemed to relate to the differences in freezing tolerance of the two clones. Total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC), total soluble sugars, sucrose and proline were determined monthly. Accumulation patterns of TNC were similar for the two clones, however, Clone-1 generally accumulated more soluble sugars, sucrose and proline which might have contributed to its freezing tolerance. Growth measurements were recorded monthly to determine whether differences occurred between the two clones. Growth of both clones peaked in the spring, showed minor peaks in summer and ceased in winter. Under greenhouse conditions, pot grown cuttings from Clone-1 and Clone-2 were given zero, six or 12 gm of Osmocote fertilizer and watered at 35 or 70% field capacity to determine the effect of irrigation and fertilization on leaf freezing point. Fertilization significantly increased leaf concentrations of N and P and produced more growth. In the greenhouse study, no differences were found in leaf freezing point due to clones, irrigation or fertilization treatment. Leaves of Clone-1 froze at a higher temperature compared to field grown plants.

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Seeds from the desert shrub Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) are one of the only known natural plant sources to store a majority of its oil in the form of liquid wax esters (WE) instead of triacylglycerols (TAGs) and these oils account for ~55% of the seed weight. Jojoba oil is highly valued as cosmetic additives and mechanical lubricants, yet despite its value much is still unknown about its neutral lipid biosynthetic pathways and lipid droplet packaging machinery. Here, we have used a multi-"omics" approach to study how spatial differences in lipid metabolites, gene expression, and lipid droplet proteins influence the synthesis and storage of jojoba lipids. Through these studies mass spectrometry analyses revealed that WEs are compartmentalized primarily in the cotyledonary tissues, whereas TAGs are, surprisingly, localized to the embryonic axis tissues. To study the differences in gene expression between these two tissues, a de novo transcriptome was assembled from high throughput RNAseq data. Differential gene expression analysis revealed that the Jojoba Wax Synthase, which catalyzes the formation of wax esters, and the Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase1, which catalyzes the final acylation of triacylglycerol synthesis, were differentially expressed in the cotyledons and embryonic axis tissues, respectively. Furthermore, through proteomic analysis of lipid droplet proteins from lipid droplets of the cotyledons and embryonic axis, it was estimated that each of these tissues contains a different proportion of the major lipid droplet proteins, oleosins, steroleosins, caleosins, and lipid droplet associated proteins. The Jojoba Olesosin1, Lipid Droplet Associated Protein 1, and Lipid Droplet Associated Protein 3, were identified as potential lipid droplet proteins that could be important for storage of wax esters. The coding sequences of these genes were transiently expressed in N. benthamiana leaves individually, and with co-expression of Mus musculus diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2, and in all cases were able to induce neutral lipid accumulation. These data also suggest a Lipid Droplet Associated Protein 1 has a specialized role for wax ester accumulation in the cotyledons, whereas Lipid Droplet Associated Protein 3 may have a more generalized role for the storage of triacylglycerols. These differences in compartmentation suggests that the cotyledons and embryonic axis of jojoba have evolved tissue-specific sets of genes for neutral lipid assembly and lipid droplet accumulation. It may be important to consider this tissue context for genetic engineering strategies designed to introduce genes from jojoba into other oilseed crops.

Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) Schneider) is a wild desert shrub known for the liquid wax extracted from its fruits. As the plant undergoes the first stages of domestication into a commercial crop, it is important to understand its response to environmental factors and to study its regularity of production. Phenological studies including vegetative growth, floral biology, seed production, and seed wax content were conducted from 1979 to 1982, complementing investigations in 1978 in three natural stands of jojoba, near Tucson, Arizona and air and soil precipitation, temperatures were continuously recorded at each study site. Periods of vegetative growth were identical for staminate and pistillate plants and were generally observed after the occurrence of measurable rainfall. In late winter vegetative growth occurred after monthly average minimum temperatures of 4-5°C, although local responses to small differences in temperature were observed. Anthesis was first observed in late February or early March. Fruits generally originated from flower buds produced in the previous summer. Incidence of fruit abortion was greatest in May and June. Variations from year to year in seed production from 1978 to 1982 suggested biennial bearing. Factors in addition to frost incidence were believed to be associated with the absence of seed production in 1979 and the low seed crop of 1981. Levels of foliar total nonstructural carbohydrates were not found to be appreciably different between a low production year and a high production one. Seed wax percent was found to be independent of annual variation in seed production. Plant growth and productivity was greatest on the site with the best developed soil profile, highest water holding capacity and highest exchangeable sodium percentage.

A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the value of jojoba meals in chick, rabbit and laying hen diets. Treated meals used in these studies had been subjected to solvent, chemical and microbial treatments for the removal of simmondsin toxicants. Feeding 5% untreated jojoba meal diets to either chicks, rabbits or laying hens resulted in a general poor performance as evidenced by reduced feed intake, poor growth and poor feed conversion; in addition, low egg production and egg output were obtained with laying hens. Incorporation of the untreated meal (containing 4.7% simmondsin compounds) at 10% of the diet caused 55.6% mortality in chicks. A pair-feeding study with chicks revealed that reduced feed intake rather than toxic effects was responsible for decreased growth and mortality. A similar study with rabbits showed that both high levels of simmondsin toxicants and palatability were responsible for poor growth. Of the seven meals tested with chicks, only the Lactobacillus acidophilus #1911 treated meal supported adequate growth when added to the diet at a level of 10%. However, feed conversion was poor at this level of suplementation. Lowering the simmondsin toxicants to .34% of the meal allowed adequate growth in weanling rabbits when incorporated in the diet at levels up to 15%. Slightly lower amino acid digestibilities were obtained for diets containing this meal. Studies of amino acid availabilities with the jojoba meals indicated a general low availability for the essential amino acids (33.7% for lysine and 43.4% for methionine). Starch digestibility was also low (22%) and true metabolizable energy varied from 1.71 to 1.90 kcal/g in laying hens. Jojoba meal also contains a trypsin inhibitor (TI) with activities reaching 5.48 TIU/g which was inactivated in 30 min at 15% moisture and 100 C. Tannic acid levels in the jojoba meals varied from 1.50 to 2.57%. Poor amino acid availabilities were still obtained after TI inactivation. The use of jojoba meal in the feeding of poultry or rabbits will require the removal of the simmondsin toxicants, denaturation of the TI as well as consideration of the poor amino acid availability and low energy content.

No description available.

No description available.